Holding Out
by three-days-late
Summary: Alfred was an orphaned, unregistered Super living in a world that was stacked against him until he meets the young billionaire Arthur Kirkland. Now the two must learn to adjust to each other and deal with a society that hates them.
1. Hero

**This is for the usxuk lj com's Summer Camp fest thing. Whenever I can't think of a stand-alone story for a prompt, I'll do something in this universe. :Db **

**This chapter was for the Day 1 prompt: Hero.  
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**Enjoy**

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><p>Alfred ducked around the corner and leaned against the brick wall to catch his breath. Those guys had been chasing him for what felt like forever, but he was confident he had finally given them the slip. At least, he was confident right up until he felt a pair of hands grab on to his wrists, forcing his arms behind his back.<p>

"Let go!" Alfred shouted as he felt the hands work a pair of handcuffs on him. Not just any handcuffs either, heavy steel ones, completely solid so that not even he could break through them.

"'Alfred Jones,'" Officer Zwingli's voice sounded as other arms started grabbing at Alfred, "Age 12, former residence Hetalia Orphanage, former guardian Berwald Oxenstierna," he was standing in front of him now, looking down at him as three more officers struggled to keep Alfred pinned, "For procedure's sake I have to ask, that is you isn't it?"

"No," Alfred gasped as he tried to fight his way out, "No, that's not me."

Officer Zwingli clicked his tongue as he turned to the next page in the file, "Now we both know that's a lie. It says you started showing signs of 'unhuman behavior' about a year ago. Since Mr. Oxenstierna is the state appointed official who takes care of the, _children_ of the city," he sneered down at Alfred, contempt clear in his eyes, "he was also the one who reported your behavior. Unhuman Behavior 2A: Super-Human Strength, I believe is what he said. Is this true or false?"

"False," Alfred ground out as the officer right behind him grabbed his hair to make him stay still.

"You shouldn't lie, Mr. 'Jones,'" Officer Zwingli sighed, "You're only making it worse. The fact that you ran is bad enough."

Alfred could only manage a glare at him. Of course he ran. He personally knew five other kids at the orphanage who had run after Mr. Väinämöinen sold them out. Sure, Mr. Oxenstierna's name always went on the official paperwork, but despite his intimidating aura, he'd never hurt a fly. Every kid who's passed through the walls of Hetalia Orphanage knows that it's Tino Väinämöinen who you really need to be wary of, kind face and cheery attitude be damned.

'Unhuman Behavior,' it was such a ridiculous phrase to Alfred. The fact that he could lift a few extra tons was apparently less human than forcibly bringing him in, shoving him into yet another system and forcing him to work at whatever task they deemed his powers best fit the state. Who wouldn't try to escape that fate?

"'Alfred Jones,' records show that you are unregistered as a 'Super Human' yet have displayed 'Unhuman Behaviors.'"

Of course there were groups, organizations working on reforming the system, but too many of them were focused on changing the wording rather than the system itself. So far they've managed to make it so that his behavior is different and wrong but overall he's super. It was all show, political showboating. Sure, politicians would say they would work on fixing the system in order to win votes, but any attempt at progress was slowed down, stalled, until it just stopped all together. On the other side, which came out when times got hard, they would remind everyone of why control of Supers was necessary, bring up the death and destruction that occurred before when Supers were left to their own devices.

That was before Alfred's time, but even he could tell they were making most of it up.

"As such, by the power invested in my by the Department of Homeland Protection, I am placing you in the custody of the Bureau of Super Human Control."

Back at the home, survival of the fittest was the only law. Yes, Mr. Oxenstierna was a kind man who did care about what happened to them, but he was always busy with keeping the place open and running that he left most of the actual supervising to Mr. Väinämöinen. Mr. Väinämöinen himself wasn't horrible as long as you were one of his favorites. If you weren't, the best strategy was to stick by one (or more, if you could manage it) of the older kids.

That's why Alfred befriended Gilbert.

"Since you are under the age of 18 and have no registered guardian to take you in, your consent is not necessary."

Gilbert, who either never got one of the standard last names given to every orphan or simply refused to use it, was seven years older than Alfred. He was a loner and a bit of a jerk, but he could always get the good food and, as Alfred found out later, was fiercely loyal to anyone who did manage to befriend him. Gilbert was able to protect him and a few others before Mr. Väinämöinen found out he was a telekinetic, Unhuman Behavior Type 5H was what the man who came to take Gilbert away called it. Gilbert had run, just like they all did, and had managed to last three days before they caught him.

Alfred hadn't heard from Gilbert since.

"You will be registered with the Bureau as having no adequate guardian to supervise your behaviors. As such, the Bureau will assign you one and appoint you with the task best equipped for your… talents that will contribute to society."

Alfred didn't personally know the next two who got taken, a girl a little older than him who rumors said could control plants and a younger boy who apparently could conjure fireworks, but he did know that they both ran, and they both got caught in the end. He did know the fourth, Ivan, who had ice powers, Unhuman Behavior 10D. Ivan chose to fight rather than to run, but he was taken down easily and never heard from again.

Mattie was the fifth, Matthew Williams, who was as close as a brother that Alfred would probably ever have. They had come for him last month, and he had run. Alfred was pretty sure they hadn't caught him yet either, but it's easier to stay hidden, he assumes, when your power is invisibility.

"That about does it for procedures," Officer Zwingli nodded. The officers holding Alfred down pulled him roughly to his feet; all six of them still kept a firm grip on his arms, "Let's get out of here and get this over with."

"What's going on here?" a new voice asked. All heads turned to see an over-dressed teen complete with top hat and cane, leaning against the entrance to the alley.

"M-Mr. Kirkland," Officer Zwingli started, "What are you doing on this side of town at this hour?"

"What, can't a child billionaire have some fun every now and then?" he swung his cane around and used it to tilt his hat up, "Or is that a crime now too?" When he received no response, he smirked, "So I ask again, what's going on here?"

Everyone in the city, maybe even the country, Alfred had never left his hometown so he couldn't say for sure, had heard of Arthur Kirkland. He was a reclusive child (although at 18, technically not a child anymore) billionaire who inherited his fortunes after the mysterious death of his parents ten years ago. He kept mostly to himself; almost completely isolated from the outside world in his manor tucked away on the outskirts of the city, save for every now and then when he'd throw a large sum of money at some grand gesture of some kind or another.

"Nothing you need to worry about Mr. Kirkland," Officer Zwingli replied, "Just a runt on the run and some procedural details to go over."

"And the department now sends seven officers to take down one runaway child," he chuckled as he kicked himself off the wall, "My tax money at work, right?"

"This is a… special case," Officer Zwingli turned back to Alfred, who was still struggling, however feeble his attempts were, to escape, "It would be best if you were on your way, Mr. Kirkland."

"No," any semblance of a smile was gone from his face as he pushed past Officer Zwingli, "No, I don't think I will," Arthur's eyes seemed to bore into Alfred as he stared down at him, "What's your name?"

"What's it to you?" that earned him a rap on the head with the cane.

"Silly boy," Arthur shook his head, sounding for all the world like he wasn't reprimanding a complete stranger surrounded by cops, "It's polite to answer a question when someone asks it."

He glared at him a bit, as if he still had the upper hand somehow, before he answered, "Alfred."

"Lovely," Arthur turned to face Officer Zwingli, "I believe you have made a horrible mistake Officer. You see, Alfred here is my little brother."

No one said anything for a long time until Officer Zwingli finally spoke up, "Mr. Kirkland, you can't be serious."

"I am. Half actually, he's a bastard child of my father and a beloved family maid you see, so my parents did their best to keep him out of the public eye. By the time they died, Alfred had just gotten so used to being out of sight that he hasn't bothered to show himself. Despite that, however, he is still a Kirkland, and my beloved little brother."

"Mr. Kirkland, do you actually expect me to believe that story? We've been after him for days, we have all of his records, there's no way your story can be true."

"I told you, this is some kind of horrible mistake," he thudded his cane against the ground, "Alfred is my brother. Isn't that right Alfred?"

"Yes," Alfred replied. Truth be told, he had never paid much attention to Arthur Kirkland or his antics, so why he was helping some kid he'd never met before was beyond him, but right now this reclusive billionaire was his only ticket out of his inevitable fate, and the least he could do is play along, "Arthur is my older brother. He's been looking after me ever since I can remember, and he's been trying to get me to go out more since our parents died. But, I got fed up with him and ran away. I'm sorry about that, Arthur," he looked up at his 'brother' with the widest eyes he could manage, "Really, I should have listened to you…"

"It's quite alright Alfred," Arthur's smile could practically be considered affectionate as he looked down at his 'brother,' "I forgive you. Let me take care of this and then we can go home, alright?"

"Mr. Kirkland," Officer Zwingli ground out, "We've put up with some of you eccentrics before, but there's no way I can excuse this kind of behavior. If you have no way to prove that this brat is actually your brother-"

"Of course, since he's a bastard, there are no official documents of his existence," Arthur sighed, "A pity, but our names do follow a similar naming theme."

"The fact that both of your names start with the same letter is not sufficient enough proof-"

"Yes, there's that. But I was actually talking about the kingly nature of our names," he chuckled, "King Arthur and King Alfred; my father did love his legendary monarchs."

"Th-that's still not enough proof!" Officer Zwingli stomped his foot and shouted, "Your story is completely illogical and-"

"He did deny it right?" Arthur raised an eyebrow, "I'm assuming you followed proper procedure and _asked _if he actually was this," he leaned forward and read off the file, "'Alfred Jones' you're actually looking for didn't you?"

Officer Zwingli's face turned red as he tried to come up with a response.

"He's got a point Vash," one of the officers holding Alfred commented, "The kid did deny everything."

"They _always_ deny everything!" Officer Zwingli snapped at him, "We've been following this _exact_ brat for two days, ever since we found him at the orphanage."

"Well," Arthur bounced his cane on his shoulder, "Alfred's been missing for three days. He probably just hid in the orphanage where you found him."

"Ah, but you see _Mr._ Kirkland, we've been following him for two days _and_ have witnessed his 'unhuman behavior' with our very own eyes. There is no 'Alfred Kirkland' registered. Considering how you'd be deemed an 'adequate guardian,' I'm wondering why you never registered him before."

That was it. Perhaps Arthur Kirkland had merely felt pity for a child, being ganged up by the police like he was, but now that it had gotten out that Alfred was… different, there was no way he'd keep up this charade on his behalf. He'd just claim it was a terrible mistake, or that he was drunk and 'mistook him for his real brother' or something and go about his business, forgetting this event happened and possibly bribing the cops to forget as well.

Alfred shut his eyes and braced himself for the certain dismissal.

"I," he heard Arthur sigh and tap his cane against the ground a few times, "I haven't gotten around to it yet."

Alfred's eyes shot opened as he stared up at Arthur. Officer Zwingli's face turned beet red, "What did you say?"

"I haven't managed to do that yet. Alfred only started showing signs of his," he paused and gave Alfred a quick glance over, "abnormal strength, recently. I've been meaning to get it done, but he's been resistant to the idea. Probably a reason he ran away, isn't it?"

"Yeah," Alfred felt himself nod, stunned that Arthur was still standing up for him, "Yeah, and I still think it's a stupid idea."

"But look what kind of mess you've gotten into because we haven't yet," he sighed, as if he was used to his 'brother's' behavior after all this time, and gave Alfred another almost affectionate smile, "You're always getting yourself into trouble. Honestly, what am I going to do with you?"

"Vash," another officer started, "if he's really Kirkland's brother-"

"But he's not!" Officer Zwingli stomped his foot repeatedly, "He's not, he's not he's not!"

"Don't be ridiculous," Arthur scoffed as the other officer's released and uncuffed Alfred, "while you stand here wasting time with me and my brother, the real 'Alfred Jones' is still out there somewhere," he placed a hand on Alfred's shoulder as he stood up and led him out of the alley, "Come on Alfred. Elizaveta has been worried sick about you. Probably cook you a feast when we get back."

"That sounds great!" Alfred beamed up at him and let himself be led away.

After a few blocks, when Officer Zwingli's shouts couldn't be heard anymore, Arthur let go of his shoulder, shoving that hand into his pocket and swinging his cane around as he did so. Alfred let the silence between them continue for a bit before he tried to break it.

"So, uh, thanks for helping me out there," he mindlessly kicked a stone a little ahead of them.

"No problem," a pause as Arthur cleared his throat and kicked the stone even farther, "They shouldn't have been treating you like that."

Alfred grunted in agreement, kicking the stone so that it bounced off the street sign at the intersection. They approached it, and Arthur glancing towards the left while Alfred looked right.

"So, thanks, and I'll see you around, I guess, maybe," he waved and quickly turned to leave but was stopped by a hand on his shoulder.

"Wait," Alfred turned to see Arthur looking away, faint blush tinting his cheeks, "Where, exactly are you planning on going?"

"Oh, well, uh," Alfred scratched his head as he thought about it, "Not sure. I can't really go back to the orphanage now. I guess I'll just wander around a bit. Maybe leave the city if I can, see the rest of the world."

"Don't be a fool," Arthur scoffed and spun his cane, still not looking at him, "An unregistered Super would never be able to leave. They'll end up catching you after a few days if you're wandering by yourself," he sighed and slammed his cane on the ground, "It doesn't look like there's a choice. You'll have to stay with me for a bit."

"I-if you want to, that is," Arthur's face grew red as he crossed his arms, "Don't misunderstand! I'm not doing this for you! I just told those officers I'd register myself as your guardian! It would be improper of me to have lied to them like that."

Alfred rolled his eyes, as if he _hadn't_ spent that whole conversation lying to them, but smiled up at Arthur, "If you're offering, I mean, it's not like I have anywhere else to go right now…"

"Yes, well," Arthur cleared his throat and started walking at a brisk pace, forcing Alfred to jog to keep up, "Just remember, this is only temporary until you find someplace to settle into permanently."

"Right, of course," Alfred smiled even wider as he grabbed his hand, "whatever you say big brother."

"Don't call me that!" he snapped, but didn't let go of the hand.

Back at the orphanage Alfred had heard stories, legends really, about an age where Supers weren't hated or feared or oppressed, but revered and respected. They helped people in need and saved the world from the bad guys and were given the title 'Hero.' Ever since he was little, Alfred had wanted to continue that tradition somehow, show the world he wasn't evil or strange but a hero.

Right now, walking towards what will come to be his first real home with the man who would become the most important person in his life, Alfred can't help but think that Arthur Kirkland, lonely despite his billions, is the most heroic person he's ever seen.


	2. First Aid

**This chapter was for the Day 2 prompt: First Aid.  
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**Enjoy**

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><p>Arthur Kirkland never liked his parents all that much. Although he never wished them dead, he wasn't entirely upset when it happened. They were not nice people and everyone was aware of this fact. So when Arthur Kirkland showed up at the Bureau of Super Human Control to register 'Alfred Kirkland,' it wasn't too much of a stretch for the government officials to believe that the late Mr. Kirkland had a bastard child that he and his wife kept locked up in some room or another in that large house on the hill.<p>

The hundreds that Arthur had slipped in with the paperwork might have helped a bit too.

Explaining Alfred away to the government/public was the easy part. Explaining him to his maid and butler was a Herculean challenge.

Elizaveta Hedervary and Roderich Edelstein had been with his family since before he was born. They'd watched him grow up, from a whiney, fussy infant to a whiney, fussy teenager, and they knew almost as much as Arthur about the Kirkland family. So when the young master brought home an even younger boy, they were…concerned to say the least.

"You can't just bring people home!" Roderich had sighed and adjusted his glasses when they discussed the matter after dinner that night, "you're always doing things like this, Idiot."

"He's certainly a bit more lively then the cats," Elizaveta had giggled, "Did you see the way he scoffed down his food? Poor kid must have been starving."

"This is a bit different then Master Kirkland bringing home a stray cat!" he barked, "Alfred is a living human! Not only that, he's a Super to boot! Did you even properly think this over when you decided to adopt him?"

"Who said anything about adoption?" Arthur huffed and tapped his foot against his chair, "I just agreed to register him and let him stay here for a few days until he figures out what to do next. No one said anything about this being a permanent thing."

"Oh," Elizaveta looked upset, "and I was looking forward to having young Master Alfred as part of the family."

"That's even worse!" Roderich sighed and leaned his head in his hand, "Master Kirkland, I've put up with a lot of your stunts in the past and am willing to continue doing so in the future, but this, right now there is no word that adequately describes how utterly idiotic you are being right now."

"Really?" he raised an eyebrow, "Pray tell Roderich, what is it this time you don't like?"

"Do you even have any idea what it means to accept guardianship over young Alfred?"

"The state just wants someone to pay for damages Supers cause," Arthur shrugged, "I have a few millions lying around I'm not using. Why not set them aside for Alfred?"

"I'm not asking you what the state wants from you as a guardian," Roderich stood and walked to the doorway, stopping to turn back and say, "I'm asking if _you _understand what it means to Alfred that you're his guardian. Elizaveta, explain it to him." And with that he left the kitchen.

"What's got his panties in a twist?" Arthur huffed as he crossed his arms and sunk lower into his chair.

"He's just worried about you," Elizaveta smiled at him, "He always is, and Alfred now too, I suppose. Arthur-"

"The state just wants to be sure they can be compensated incase he breaks something. I can do that," Arthur stood and made to leave the kitchen as well, "This, him staying here with me, it's just temporary. He knows that, and he's okay with that."

"That's a shame," Elizaveta stood and stretched her arms above her head before pushing past Arthur out of the kitchen. She stopped just before leaving and leaned in to say, "I think he could be good for you."

"He's only 12 years old," Arthur huffed and looked away, "Hardly an appropriate companion for me."

"Oh Arthur, you pervert," his cheeks went red as she giggled, "I meant, looking after someone else. Caring for someone other than yourself, even if it's just having another human contact other than Roderiech and me. It would be good for you."

"I don't need other people," he glared at her, "I'm grateful for you and Roderich for taking care of me when my parents died, even before that really, but I'm perfectly capable of doing things on my own now."

"I do wonder though; there are hundreds of unregistered Supers, some of them not even orphans, simply abandoned. Why did you choose to help him?" she smiled sadly at him as she turned whispering, "Sometimes it's not only about you, Master Arthur," as she left.

Arthur frowned in the direction she'd left. He'd never liked the current treatment of Supers, both of them knew that, but due to time constraints and lack of experience with these matters, he'd never gotten much of a chance to make huge difference in the way the government handled them. Of course he'd help out an unregistered Super the way he did. It was the least he could do to try and counter some of the unfairness in the poor kid's life.

He didn't particularly care what happened to Alfred after he left his house. By agreeing to pay for whatever damages he did with his powers, Arthur was simply correcting the injustices that weren't the boy's fault. It wasn't Alfred's fault he had abnormal strength, and it wasn't his fault that that was enough of a reason for the state to hate him, deny him basic human liberties just because he was on his own. If he had been any other orphaned child the state wouldn't have given two shits what he did with himself, but just because of that one little factor he wasn't allowed to make any of his own decisions.

Not that he cared about Alfred or he decisions, Arthur furrowed his eyebrows as he left the kitchen and made his way upstairs as well. With this arrangement, Arthur had just essentially given Alfred the freedom to do whatever the hell he pleased. He could go rob every bank in the city and as long as Arthur could pay the compensation (and he could), no one, especially Arthur, would bat an eyelash. That's how the system worked.

Yes, sponsoring Alfred was just Arthur's way of making the statement he'd been looking to make for ages. He didn't care about the boy himself, and he certainly didn't _need _him, no matter what nosy butlers and maids thought otherwise.

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><p>Alfred had spent most of the week since Arthur had registered him out of the house, only showing up at meals and for sleep. Not that Arthur cared.<p>

Whenever he was asked about what he was doing, by either Elizaveta or Roderich, because Arthur didn't care, Alfred would respond with "Nothing." Not that Arthur cared.

Arthur hadn't seen him at all today, although Elizaveta claimed he stopped in for a bite to each around lunchtime. It was almost midnight and he still hadn't come home.

Not that Arthur cared.

He was currently reading in the sitting room, as opposed to his bed room or study upstairs where he usually did. This was only because there was a bird squawking loudly in the tree that happened to be located right outside both his room and the study, not because the sitting room was situated close enough to the front door that he'd be able to hear if anyone came in.

At around midnight the door finally did open, disturbing him from his book, of course, because he hadn't been waiting for that to happen for the past few hours. Arthur slammed his book shut and stormed into the hallway to find Alfred leaning against the wall, clutching is shoulder and staring at him.

"A-Arthur, what are you doing up?" he asked.

Arthur crossed his arms and glared, "I could ask the same of you. Do you have any idea what time it is?"

"Nothing," he pushed himself off the wall and walked past him, "It doesn't matter."

"Like hell it doesn't!" Arthur grabbed Alfred's shoulder, causing him to wince, "You've been disappearing every night this week. Where are you going?"

"It doesn't matter," Alfred easily broke Arthur's grip and looked at the ground, "I-I've been looking for another place to stay. This is only temporary right?"

"Alfred," he tried to meet his eyes, but the boy was refusing to look at him. Then he noticed the black eye and the scratches on his face, "Alfred, what happened? You're hurt."

His eyes widened as he turned away and started up the stairs, "It's nothing."

"It's not nothing!" Arthur shouted up after him, "If you're hurt I want to know!"

"Why?" Alfred stopped on the stairs and turned to finally look at him, "It's not like you care what happens to me."

"That's not true!" Arthur had shouted before he properly thought about what he was saying, "I, I care what happens to you!"

Alfred looked away, "Well you don't act like you do."

Arthur was about to protest before he realized that he was right; he hadn't acted like he cared, because he wasn't supposed to care, was he? What did he care about some kid he just met on the street one night that he let into his home without a second thought? It was only a temporary solution, so what if Alfred had been looking for a more permanent one, and so what if he got hurt in the process?

But the truth was he did care. He cared if Alfred got hurt, he was worried when he hadn't come home before, and he cared if he lived or died. He saw a small boy being abused by the system, similar to himself in some ways yet in others different, and couldn't help but lend a hand in the only way he could.

Arthur's parents had died under mysterious circumstances. Even he wasn't able to escape accusations, the fact that he barely remembered that night himself helping the more vicious rumors that spread. However, simply because he was a Kirkland and because there were no other heirs to inherit the Kirkland fortune, Arthur was left to his own devices, alone in his house with only the family butler, maid, and billions to keep him company. Throughout the rest of his childhood, however, _someone _was always there looking over his shoulder, waiting for him to mess up somehow and take away everything he had because he was too young or couldn't handle being alone or just because.

So Arthur had shut them out, closed his heart, proved to the world he didn't need anyone and could handle his billions by himself. This meant that he couldn't throw it away on what proper society dubbed 'useless causes,' such as everything Arthur believed to be wrong with society and wanted to change. So he closed his heart to that too, had to watch people suffer and do nothing about it at the risk of becoming like them. Even when he officially became an adult and couldn't have his fortune taken away, he was so used to shutting everything out that he didn't bother with childish goals anymore.

Seeing Alfred being abused by the system that was supposedly put in place to protect him had been the final straw, made him realize that even if he couldn't change the system, he could at least help this one boy.

Whether he wanted it or not, Alfred had already broken down all the barriers Arthur had painstakingly spent most of his life setting up with just a glance.

"Come on," Arthur extended a hand to Alfred, "Let me fix you up."

Alfred hesitated but took the hand and allowed himself to be led back downstairs to the bathroom. Arthur sat him on the toilet as he rifled through the medicine cabinet above the sink, pulling out the first aid supplies as he located them. When he was done, he turned to Alfred and asked, "Where does it hurt?"

Alfred pointed at his eye, "Here, and," moved his finger to his shoulder, "here," and finally rested it on his knee, "here."

Arthur nodded, "Take off your shirt and roll up your pants."

"Why?"

"Just do it," he sighed as he left the bathroom, "I'll get you an ice pack for your eye."

One trip to the freezer in the kitchen later, Arthur returned to find a shirtless, pouting Alfred sitting on the toilet, noticed that he shoulder was heavily bruised and that his knee was covered in blood.

"Damn it Alfred," he sighed as he grabbed his discarded shirt and used it to wrap up the ice pack before handing it to him, "Cover your eye with this."

He obeyed as Arthur examined his shoulder, "You'll need another one for this," he decided as he gently grabbed his arm and experimented with moving it. Alfred let out a sharp hiss. "I think it's dislocated. Hang on, this might hurt a bit." He popped it back in place, causing Alfred to let out a small scream.

"Ow! That hurt more than a bit!" Alfred shouted.

Arthur smiled and rubbed his head, "Sorry, but it feels a bit better now doesn't it?"

Alfred nodded in agreement as Arthur grabbed a washcloth and ran it under some warm water. "I'm sorry, by the way. If I gave of the impression I don't care about you, that is."

"Yeah, well," he looked away as Arthur got on his knees to properly treat the wound on his knee, "I'm just temporary right? No need to get attached to me."

"That's not," he dabbed the washcloth on his knee to clean up the blood, "That's not, what I meant. I, don't necessarily _want _you to leave just yet. You can stay as long as you want."

"Really?" Arthur nodded and saw Alfred smile a little before the both turned away and an awkward silence invaded the room.

"So," Arthur asked as he stood up and tossed the washcloth into the sink, "What, exactly happened? What have you been doing?" Alfred looked away as if ashamed and started playing with the hem of his shirt, "I won't judge you, I'm just curious."

"I was, um," his face went red as he stared firmly out the window, "l-looking for Mattie."

"Mattie?" Arthur grabbed the antiseptic and a plaster before kneeling back on the floor, "Who's that?"

"He was – is, my brother," Alfred started picking at his elbow, "Or, uh, as close to a brother as I can have."

"Oh," Arthur froze just as he was about to spray his knee. He shook himself out of it before applying the antiseptic, making Alfred hiss in pain.

"He was at the home with me and, he ran too," Alfred gripped his arm tightly, forgetting his strength for a moment before loosening it, "They came for him, just before me, but his power's invisibility so, so he's still out there! Mattie was a master of hide and seek, so there's no way they found him!" he looked right into Arthur's eyes, as if he doubted his statement.

In reality, even if the he had invisibility powers, the chances that he had evaded capture this long were slim to none. The Department of Homeland Protection had other Supers under their employ, raised from childhood, trained to track down young, unregistered Supers, invisible or not.

Instead of crushing Alfred's hopes, he smiled and nodded, "Right, but how did you get so hurt?" he asked as he unwrapped the plaster and placed it on his knee.

"I ran into some guys who…weren't very nice," he admitted sheepishly.

"That's…" he sighed as he patted Alfred's knee and smiled up at him, "Try not to fight too much, you could hurt someone more then you mean to with strength like yours."

"Y-yeah," Alfred scratched his cheek and shifted the ice pack on his eye, avoiding Arthur's gaze.

Arthur wasn't very good at this guardian thing. Alfred was troubled and he had no idea what do to make him smile again. An idea struck him, and before he could second guess himself, Arthur leaned forward and placed a light kiss on the plaster on Alfred's knee. He felt Alfred stiffen and his own cheeks heat up as he stood and placed another kiss on his shoulder and one more on the ice pack covering his eye.

"T-to help with the healing," Arthur cleared his throat and explained, "Kisses make things like that better."

"Y-yeah, I guess. Thanks Arthur," Arthur looked over to see Alfred blushing almost as much as he was.

"A-anyway, let's get you that ice pack for your shoulder," he offered Alfred his hand, which he instantly took, and pulled him to his feet to led him to the kitchen.

Maybe Elizaveta was right. Maybe he did need to take care of Alfred as much as Alfred needed Arthur to take care of him. It would take time but maybe, just maybe, Arthur had finally found someone to let into his heart.

Hopefully this time he wouldn't regret it.


	3. Science

**This chapter was for the Day 3 prompt: Science.  
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**Enjoy**

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><p>Alfred never liked science. Science, as it was explained back when he went to school, was used to explain the world around them. This sounded really good to Alfred back then, but in reality all he'd ever heard from scientists was about finding 'cures' for Supers or searching for what caused the 'mutation' that created a Super.<p>

Alfred had never seen his strength as something bad or as something that needed to go away. Like his blonde hair or his blue eyes or that cowlick that never stayed down, it was just a part of who he was, not something that needed to go away.

So when Dr. Von Bock appeared on the television one night and talked excitedly about how he and his team were getting close to discovering where the 'Super Gene' came from and how they could use this to find a 'cure,' Alfred, naturally, got upset and took what he considered to be an appropriate action; throwing the remote through the TV.

Arthur, on the other hand, was not amused by his act or his excuse, "Lovely, now I'll have to get a new one!" he sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, muttering curses under his breath.

Alfred didn't care, he knew Arthur could afford twenty new TVs, what he hated was shopping for them, and curled up farther into the couch. When Arthur eventually noticed he wasn't moving, he awkwardly sat down next to him.

"Is, is everything alright Alfred?" he hesitated before putting a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm not, wrong am I Arthur?" he asked, curling away from the hand.

"Wrong about what?"

"Just, in general, because of, you know…"

"Your powers?" he asked as the other trailed off into nothing. Alfred nodded the conformation, "It's never bothered you before."

"No," he admitted, "It's just, always been there, so I don't think about it. But the scientists in the news, they're always looking for a way to 'cure' it, but what if I don't want to be cured? But, they wouldn't be looking for a cure if it wasn't bad, so does the fact that I don't want to be cured make me bad or-"

"You're not wrong," Arthur rubbed soothing circles into his shoulder to calm him down, "and you're not bad. Why would you think that?"

"Everyone's studying Supers so they can find a cure," Alfred pouted as he leaned into Arthur, "S'not fair. I don't wanna be cured."

"You're over thinking it," he wrapped his arm around his shoulders, "Or rather, you're thinking about it in the wrong light."

"What do you mean?"

"Humans are always afraid of what they don't understand. It's our survival instinct, why our ancestors were able to survive the Stone Age. When we don't understand something we're have two choices, try to learn more about it or run away from it. Right now, humans don't understand where the Super Gene comes from, and that fact alone scares them. Some people are trying to run away or control it by forcing restrictions on your. Others, like the scientists, are simply trying to understand it."

"Yeah, so they can get rid of it."

"That's what they think they want, because right now they're afraid," he pulled him closer to his side, "Some are just trying to appease the other side as well, but the more they learn, the more they'll understand, and the less scared they will be. That's what science is all about, you know, finding answers. Simply discovering things isn't good or bad. It's how you use what you've discovered that defines it."

And the way Arthur described it, it didn't sound as bad. Alfred had always wondered why, out of all those kids in the orphanage, even all of everyone in the world, was he the one who was Super? If science could figure it out, if people could understand, then maybe the world would be a little better for everyone.

"Feel better?" Arthur asked as Alfred sat up.

"Yeah," he nodded, "A little."

"Good," he smiled, "because you're coming with me to shop for the telly."

"What, but," Alfred gaped as he sprung off the couch, "That wasn't my fault!"

"Yes, the remote just magically flew into it by itself," Arthur rolled his eyes, "If I have to suffer through finding a new one, so do you. Grab your shoes we're leaving."

Alfred pouted but did as he said. After all, spending time with Arthur might not be so bad.


	4. Military

**This chapter was for the Day 5 prompt: Military.  
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**Enjoy**

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><p>Arthur had a cousin. His name was Mathias, he was 25, and Arthur didn't like him much at all. Mathias was in the military, some special ops weapons division or something, he never really paid attention. This meant that, thankfully, Arthur only saw him every now and then.<p>

He also happened to be a bit, and by a bit, he meant very, anti-Super.

So when Mathias and an army friend named Nikolas, who Arthur didn't mind so much, stopped by unexpectedly one day, Arthur had a mini panic attack when Alfred showed them upstairs.

"Oi Artie! I didn't know you were kidnapping kids off the street for human contact now!" Mathias grinned as he disturbed Arthur in his study.

"Mathias! I wasn't expecting you. Get the hell out."

"Oh come on, is that any way to treat your cousin?" He got Arthur in a headlock, "Since Nick and I were in the neighborhood and have a few days off, we decided to pop by and visit!"

"You can't have any money," by this time Nikolas and Alfred had entered the study as well, both standing in the doorway, a bit unsure how to react, "Hello Nikolas, it's good to see you again."

"Likewise Arthur," he nodded, "Do you want me to get him off for you?

"If you could."

A few smacks and a rather feminine screech from Mathias later and Arthur could breathe again.

"So," Mathias jerked his head towards Alfred, "are you going to tell me who the kid is or am I forced to make assumptions about you?"

"This is Alfred, he's staying with me for a bit," Arthur gestured towards Alfred, "Alfred, this is Mathias, feel free to ignore him."

"Hiya kid!" Mathias grinned and held out his hand, "I'm Arthur's beloved cousin. I'm sure he's told you all about me."

"Hasn't mentioned a word," he smiled and shook the hand, "I can only imagine because he's jealous."

"I like this kid," Mathias laughed and clapped him on the back, "Where did Arthur find you?"

"Oh, he saved me. You see I got into a little trouble with-"

"Mathias!" Arthur barked, "Roderich and Elizaveta have the day off today. If you're going to insist on staying here for however long the military managed to get rid of you this time, you're going to have to bring your own things to a guest room."

"Geeze, you would give them the day off when I decide to come over. Can't you hire more servants?"

"Get your things before I decide to burn them."

This only made him laugh harder, "Come on Nick. Let's take the room right next to Artie's and keep him up all night," he winked.

"I hate you," Nikolas responded as they both left the office.

"I'll help," Alfred began to follow, "I'm sure you have a lot of stuff."

"Thanks Al," Mathias grinned, "So considerate, unlike _some _people in this house."

"Actually Alfred," Arthur interrupted, "I need you to start dinner."

"But it's only three o'clock…"

"Unless you want _me _to start it of course."

"I'll go start dinner," Alfred couldn't get to the kitchen quickly enough.

Mathias laugh boomed as he went downstairs. Nikolas raised his eyebrow and gave Arthur a look before he followed after him.

Arthur rested his head in his hands. He didn't know how long Mathias was staying, he never did, but for Alfred's sake he couldn't get him to leave soon enough.

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><p>Mathias and Nikolas had been over for about a week. At this point Arthur was going to hurt someone, preferably Mathias. He and Alfred had hit it off surprisingly well. Not all that surprising actually; they both were a tad obnoxious (Mathias more so then Alfred), blonde, and with the way Mathias kept exaggerating his war stories and Alfred's habit of adoring hero stories, yes, they would get along well.<p>

This made it harder for Arthur to tell Alfred that Mathias hated Supers, which meant that Arthur hadn't gotten around to telling him that yet. Instead he'd been running interference whenever Alfred was in a situation where his strength would be revealed to Mathias. When Roderich and Elizaveta came back and figured out what was going on, they chastised him for not telling Alfred but, in the end, couldn't tell him either and helped him out. Nikolas had apparently figured it out too (which if anything showed how incredibly thick Mathias was, thank god) and also began running interference as well.

Which made the whole thing more awkward when he finally found out.

It had been that stupid television of all things. Mathias had broke it again, fifth time during his stay, and was bringing in the new one when he stumbled in the kitchen, just a little, and lost his grip onit Alfred managed to prevent it from being the sixth broken television by catching it. With one hand. And then setting it on the nearby table like it was nothing, because to him, it really was nothing.

Elizaveta managed to distract Alfred with an, "I need some help outside Alfred!" to get him out of the room before Mathias realized what just happened.

"Did he just…" he pointed where Alfred just exited, "With one hand…"

"He works out," Arthur shrugged, hoping his cousin was dense enough to buy it, "He used to live on the street, so-"

"He's _12_ Artie," suddenly Mathias was glaring at him, "No matter how often a 12 year old worked out, that's just not natural!"

"Mathias, you're just overreacting-"

"Like hell I am Arthur!" he slammed his hands on the table, "Why didn't you tell me you let a, a _Super _into your house?"

"Because I knew this is how you would react," Arthur stirred his tea and refused to look him in the eye, "It's honestly not as big a deal as you're making it out to be."

"Of course it's a big deal! You just let some _freak _into your house without thinking about the consequences!" he sighed and rubbed the back of his neck, "Why do you _always _do things like this whenever you leave the house Artie…?"

"You're just jealous he can beat you at arm wrestling."

"This isn't about me Arthur! Supers can't be trusted. I've seen it happen, now that they let Supers in the military, and they'll turn on you. They don't have a sense of loyalty and trust that we normal people have."

"Maybe that's just because you're an asshole Mathias," Arthur shot him his own glare, "Did you ever consider that?"

"I'm just looking out for you! I know you always need to take on these little pet projects to occupy your time, but that kid is a menace! He's dangerous and he wouldn't have a second thought about hurting you!"

"Funny," Arthur calmly sipped his tea, "He wasn't so 'dangerous' or 'menacing' until a few minutes ago. You were getting along fine with him all weekend."

"Because you didn't tell me," he pointed an accusing finger, "You left me in the dark about him-"

"Because it doesn't matter! He's still the same Alfred that fawned over your latest war stories, the same Alfred that laughed whenever you made me miserable. All that's changed is his strength."

Mathias didn't say anything for a while, "You tricked me. _He _tricked me, because it's in his nature," he sighed and glanced imploringly at his cousin, "If you won't kick that brat out I will."

"You, dear cousin, do not live here," Arthur stood up and placed his hands on the table, "This is my manor, and I say who stays and who goes," his glare increased tenfold, "And I think you've overstayed your welcome."

"Fine," Mathias glared right back, "I wouldn't want to stay here with that freak anyway. Nick and I can do something else during our time off." He stormed out of the kitchen without another word.

Arthur sat back down in his chair and sighed, "How much of that did you actually hear?"

A small squeak sounded from the doorway, "N-none of it. I'm not even here."

"Alfred…"

The door creaked open and Alfred entered, head downcast, "Almost all of it, actually."

"Alfred, come here," Arthur held his arms up as he shuffled over and pulled him into I hug, "Don't let what he said upset you."

"I know," Alfred was tense but rested his head on Arthur's shoulder, "I know, he just… and it's not like I haven't heard it all before, but…"

"I know, for some reason, you liked him, but honestly Alfred, he's a bit of a jerk anyway-"

"He's not a jerk," they both looked over to see that at some point Nikolas had entered the kitchen, "Well, he is a jerk, a massive one, and he shouldn't have said those things. While I don't agree with what he said or his opinion on the matter, I can see where he's coming from."

Arthur glared at him and held Alfred tighter, "To have said those things to Alfred-"

"To be fair, he didn't know he was listening," Nikolas sighed and looked up, right into Arthur's eyes, as if begging him to understand, "He's been in the military for most of his life, we both have, and Supers in the military, well, it hasn't ended very well for people who aren't. I'm sure you've heard the stories; entire Super units going rouge or just disappearing, Super soldiers failing the, admittedly high, expectations of their comrades and leaving them all for dead. The list goes on. Most of the stories are just rumors," he shrugged, "But for someone like Mathias, and others, who were raised in that environment on those stories, well, it's hard to let prejudices go. It doesn't help that regular soldiers like Mathias tend to get passed over for Super soldiers. Not to mention his personal experience with, although, you were right, that was mostly due to him being an ass."

"If you're asking me to forgive him-"

"I'm not, not right now anyway," Nikolas sighed and glanced at the floor to collect his thoughts before looking at Arthur again, "I'm just hoping you'll try to understand where he's coming from, I suppose. I think most of this problem stems from a lack of understanding from both sides. Maybe if you understand him a little, he in turn can understand you, and everyone can meet in the middle," he turned his attention to the window, "Then again, maybe I'm just being overly optimistic."

"That's what I think too," Alfred said, causing Nikolas to stare at him, "I mean, if we all understood each other, maybe things'll get better."

Nikolas smiled at that, and Arthur was sure that was the first time he saw him smile, "You're a good kid Alfred. I hope someday we'll meet again."

Mathias and Nikolas left shortly after that.

That night, Alfred claimed he had trouble sleeping. Arthur agreed to let him sleep in his bed, on the condition that it was only a onetime thing and that he kept to his side of the bed.

Come morning, they both decided to ignore the fact that Alfred woke up in Arthur's arms.


	5. Fast Food

**This chapter was for the Day 6 prompt: Fast Food.  
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**Enjoy**

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><p>"Elizaveta," Alfred called out as soon as he entered the house. He had spent the afternoon looking for Mattie, but so far no luck. He'd had some pretty good leads going into today, some kids he knew from the orphanage knew some guy kind of things, but they'd all turned up dead. It got him down, sure, but that was nothing one of Elizaveta's home cooked meals couldn't fix.<p>

Unfortunately when he got to the kitchen he found not the headstrong maid but Arthur, staring at the pan in his hand like it was something he'd never seen before.

"Arthur?" he turned and saw Alfred, "Where's Elizaveta?"

"Something came up," he answered as he turned back to the stove, "She and Roderich had to go, so I'm making dinner tonight."

"Is that really a good idea?" Alfred asked as he moved to stand next to him, "I can make something."

"The only thing you know how to make is Mac & Cheese," Arthur scowled, "and that's only because the directions are on the box, and even then you still manage to overcook it."

"Well, it's better than what you do to it," Alfred pouted.

"I'll cook us a proper dinner," Arthur smirked, and Alfred realized there was no way he could convince him otherwise. All he could do at this point was get enough space between him and the stove.

"Just you wait. I'll show you how a _real _dinner is made."

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><p>And so, Arthur and Alfred found themselves at some burger place downtown, waiting in line for burgers.<p>

"So Alfred, when Elizaveta asks, how did that giant, gaping hole appear in the kitchen where the stove used to be?"

"A wizard did it."

"Good lad," Arthur rubbed his hair, "Now can you explain just why you insisted on these abysmal burgers?"

"They're great!" Alfred insisted, "You just need to give them a chance."

"Alright, but I'll let you know I'm already hating every moment of this outing."

It was their turn next, so Arthur walked up to the counter and cleared his throat to get the part-timer's attention.

"I would like two hamburgers please."

"I want fries," Alfred whined as he tugged on his sleeve, "Arthur, I want fries."

"Yes, fine, make that two hamburgers and some fries."

The girl serving them was too busy staring to take in their order, "Aren't you… that really rich Kirkland guy?"

"Well, yes-"

"Arthur," Alfred tugged his sleeve again, "I want fries."

"But, you're like, really rich. What are you doing here?"

"And milkshake. Arthur can I get a milkshake?"

"Yes, fine, whatever," he turned back to the girl, who was still gawking, "Two hamburgers, fries, a shake, and whatever passes for tea in this establishment," when she still didn't move, he gave her his best 'do-what-I-say-before-I-get-angry' stare, "_please_."

"Oh, yes! R-right away sir!" She disappeared in the back for a few seconds before coming out with his order, "Here you are Mr. Kirkland!"

Arthur thanked her and grabbed the food. As he turned to find a table, he noticed her the wide smile she directed at him with an expecting look in her eyes. Noticing the tip jar prominently placed on the counter, Arthur rolled his eyes and handed the food to Alfred. He pulled a $50 bill out of his pocket and placed it in the jar.

"Thank you very much Mr. Kirkland!" she beamed at him, "Enjoy your meal!"

Arthur scowled as he went to the back of the restaurant to find Alfred already starting on his food. He sat down, glared at him, and reached for his own burger and the water substance that they called tea here. They ate in silence, Alfred finishing up mere moments after Arthur sat down.

"We used to come here," Alfred broke the silence, "Mattie and Gilbert and me. Gilbert knew the owner, so when we couldn't get enough food at the orphanage, he'd take us here and the owner'd give us some leftovers."

Oh, well, that would explain his insistence on coming here, "Did you, um…"

"I talked to the owner about Mattie," he played with the straw of his drink, "He saw him the first night he ran away, but hasn't seen him since."  
>"I see," Arthur bit his lip and looked across the table at Alfred's hopeless expression. He placed his hand on the boy's arm in what he hoped was a comforting gesture, "You'll find him Alfred. I know you will"<p>

"I just wish it wouldn't take so long," he answered with a sigh.

"He's a hide and seek champion. No one said it was going to be easy," borderline impossible, to be honest, even if Matthew had somehow evaded the system for so long. Even so, Arthur gave him an encouraging smile, "But, if anyone can find him, I know you can."

That, at least, got a smile out of him, "Thanks Arthur."

"Come on," Arthur said as he stood and gathered up the garbage, "I'm sure Elizaveta and Roderich are home and want an explanation for that hole in the kitchen."

"You mean the one left by the wizard?" Alfred asked, bleeding innocence out of every pore.

"The very same," they both chuckled as they left the restaurant hand in hand, ready to face whatever was waiting for them at home together.


	6. Aviation

**This chapter was for the Day 7 prompt: Aviation. That's it for now, but I'll be back later with more. ^_^  
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**Enjoy**

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><p>If Alfred could have picked what superpower he got, it would have been flight.<p>

"Just…ease up on the controls a bit," Arthur instructed, "Don't put too much pressure on them."

Don't get him wrong, he loved having super-strength. Being able to lift and move and break anything he wanted was great. Alfred had always wanted to fly though, soaring through the sky, sleeping on the white clouds that he always assumed were made of pure fluff and dreams. Yes, that would have been perfect.

"Careful!" he cautioned, "No tricks, you're just getting used to it!"

Gilbert had always said he was crazy. The whole superpower thing was a grab bag anyway, and you're stuck with what you get, no exceptions. Why waste time wishing for something that's not going to happen?

"Stay out of the clouds. They're just water and fog and you could get lost."

Mattie had always told him it was part of some wish-fulfillment psychology babble thing that he liked to go on about sometimes. Basically, he wanted to get away from, well, everything, and what better way to do that then by simply flying off into the wide, blue sky?

"Mind your altitude. Alfred, are you paying attention to the meter?"

Either way, it had always been something Alfred wanted to do. Float among the clouds, swing on a star, soar to faraway places, the whole package deal. He'd gladly give up all of his strength, even if he became _weaker _than a normal person, to fly.

"Stay away from the sun! It's too bright and it might blind you. Just stay below the clouds for now, that's good."

He and Arthur were stargazing one night. Arthur was showing the constellations to him, telling him their stories, the myths from the ancients long ago, and for some reason, Alfred had let his dream of flying slip. Instead of laughing or psychoanalyzing him, Arthur admitted that he owned and knew how to operate a helicopter.

"I said be careful! Just take it easy, yes, that's good. Just like that."

"It'd be a lot easier to do this if you weren't such a back-seat flyer you know."

"Do you want me to land this thing? I've been flying for years, boy; I could easily land this bird even with you being in the pilot's seat before you even knew what was going on."

Alfred grumbled but didn't push the matter.

A few weeks after the stargazing, Arthur had shown him his helicopter. After some pleading and a well timed use of his wide-eyed puppy look, Arthur had agreed to take him up for a ride. It was the single greatest feeling in his young life.

"Yes, that's good. Just like that. You're doing great Alfred, keep it up."

Weeks of more pleading along with a good word from Elizaveta and a request from Roderich, mostly to get Alfred to stop complaining about it, but whatever worked, and Arthur agreed to teach Alfred how to fly the helicopter.

"Remember your strength. Relax your grip just a little – ah, yes, you got it. Excellent."

And this, up in the air, flying through the clouds with no one to stop him or interfere with his flight, unless you counted Arthur's nagging, but Alfred was willing to put up with it. After all, the man was teaching him how to fly.

"Alright, I think you got it," Arthur nodded and glanced at the fuel gauge, "Just in time too. We need a refueling. Do you remember what I told you about landing, or do you want me to do it?"

"I'm sure I'll be fine-"

"Alfred, don't crash my helicopter! I don't want you to get hurt, I mean," he cleared his throat and looked the other way, "I don't want to be bothered to replace it. Besides, I'm in here as well."

"Of course," Alfred smiled. Not even that weird denial thing that Arthur did could get him down, "Don't worry about it. I remember what you said about landing. Besides, it's a helicopter. You just find the ground and put it down, right?"

"You're not ready to _hover _it yet," Arthur rolled his eyes, "Just land it like an airplane, like I showed you before, got it?"

"Got it Teach," he winked and prepared to land it.

Alfred was grateful for Arthur for many things. The whole saving him from the Bureau, becoming his guardian, and letting him into his home things were the most prominent on his list. But this, giving him the gift of flight, letting him experience something he's wanted his whole life, this was the reason why he was glad Arthur Kirkland was in his life.


	7. Gardening

**This chapter was for the Day 9 prompt: Gardening.  
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**Enjoy**

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><p>Arthur had a magnificent garden in the backyard. It had every kind of flower Alfred had ever seen as well as several that he hadn't contained within it. It was Arthur's pride and joy, and he took immense pleasure in working on the garden himself. Elizaveta, Roderich, and Alfred helped him from time to time, but Arthur liked to do most of the garden work himself and leave the things like cooking, cleaning, and the rest of the yard work to them.<p>

Arthur loved his garden, it was practically his baby, and his baby could only have the best materials available to him. This involved going to all sorts of special garden warehouse places for the sole purpose of looking for specific soil or fertilizer or a gardening tool or whatever. For some reason, Alfred was always coerced into coming along as well.

"Why am I here again?" Alfred asked as he and Arthur were led through the topsoil warehouse full of huge shelves with nothing but dirt on them.

"Because I need someone to carry the soil once I pick it out," Arthur rolled his eyes, "Obviously. It's not like you even know the difference between screened topsoil and unscreened topsoil. What use would you be in picking it out?"

"Quite right Mr. Kirkland," the salesman guiding them agreed.

Alfred huffed as he followed them, looking at bag of dirt after bag of dirt. In the end it was just dirt, why Arthur and this guy needed to talk about which dirty was dirtier or why it even mattered was a mystery to him.

"You should get servants for this kind of thing," Alfred muttered at some point. Arthur had him holding three different bags of soil and he was _still_ looking for more.

"Roderich and Elizaveta are taking care of things at the house," he waved the issue away as the salesman went off the fetch yet another bag of dirt, "Besides, I know more about gardening then them. It would be silly to send them out when they'd get the wrong thing in the end."

"Then why don't you hire a gardener?" he shrugged as best as he could while holding three bags of soil, "I mean, it's not like you can't afford it."

"I like working in my garden. I don't need a gardener."

"Well what about other servants? Like, how about a chef? Not that Elizaveta is bad, but she also does a lot of the cleaning, and it'd make sense for someone who specializes in food dealing with the food."

"I don't need a chef," Arthur crossed his arms over his chest, "Elizaveta has never complained about cooking before, and in turn, no one has complained about her food."

"How about more maids? Or more butlers?" Alfred shifted the bags in his arms, "I mean, it's a really big house, and only the four of us live there and run it. You can afford more help, why don't you have it?"

Arthur stiffened, "I don't _need_ more help, Alfred. Elizaveta and Roderich have proven more than capable of taken care of the house by themselves over the past ten years. Now that you're here you can help them, and that is more than enough."

"Yeah, but," he shifted again, "Don't you ever get lonely?"

Arthur's mouth dropped open as he fumbled for an answer. Luckily he was saved by the return of the salesman with three new types of soil for him to pick, distracting Arthur and boring Alfred, who set down the bags in his arms and began to wander about the warehouse.

The voices had become a distinct mumble when he heard the creaking. It was a sharp sound, but barely noticeable unless you weren't bothering to listen to anything else. Alfred whipped his head around to look for the source of the noise and his eyes landed on the tall, metal shelves that reached from floor to ceiling that were currently falling on Arthur and the salesman.

"Arthur!" he shouted as he raced back towards them, "Look out!"

Arthur's face went pale as he looked up to see the falling shelf. He backed away as far as he could, back hitting the adjacent shelf as the salesman bolted down the aisle away from him. The falling shelf hit the one behind Arthur, causing that to fall as well, as Alfred skidded to a stop right next to him.

"Alfred what are you doing?" Arthur shouted at him.

Alfred ignored him and put his hands up to catch the falling shelf to prevent it from crushing them. Once he got it balanced enough to be supported with just one hand, he reached out and grabbed onto the second shelf to stop that one from falling anymore.

"A-Arthur," he said, panting, "Are you okay?"

"Yes, yes I'm fine," Alfred glanced down and saw Arthur on the ground, looking up at him with a strange look in his eyes, "What about you?"

"These are k-kinda heavy," he admitted, "D-don't know how much longer…"

"That's alright. You're doing good Alfred. Keep it up," he smiled at him, "Can you stand that one in your right hand up?"

Alfred concentrated and did as he suggested, "Like that?"

"Yes, good. Now see if you can rest the other one on it so it doesn't fall."

He nodded as he slowly retracted his right hand from the one shelf to use it to lift up the other one, just a bit, until it caught onto it. Alfred relaxed his grip to test if the shelf would move again, and when it didn't, he retracted his hands completely.

"Very good," Arthur reached out a hand and placed it on his shoulder as he stood up, ducking his head so it didn't bump into the shelf, "Good job Alfred. Now let's get out of here."

Alfred let himself be led by Arthur out from under the fallen shelf and to the front of the warehouse where the salesman was waiting, frantic about the faulty shelves and the lost wares. He apologized profusely to Arthur, who brushed it off as nothing and informed him that he would not be making any purchases today before leading Alfred out of the warehouse, hand never leaving his shoulder.

They ended up back in the garden later that day despite their inability to obtain soil, Arthur replanting some roses while Alfred observed from a nearby bench. He kicked his feet uselessly at the grass, staring at a ladybug that was crawling all over a nearby stone fountain.

"I'm sorry you couldn't get your dirt," he said after a while.

Arthur looked up from his plants, "What?"

"Your soil," he corrected, "I'm sorry you couldn't get any."

"That wasn't your fault," Arthur waved his spade at him before digging it into the ground again; "You didn't push the shelf down… did you?"

"No!" Alfred crossed his arms and frowned at him, "But I couldn't stop it in time so-"

"You stopped it before it hit me," he sighed as he put his hands on his knees and smiled at Alfred. Not just any smile, but the special smile that Alfred had only seen occasionally, when Arthur was really, truly happy. Now that he thought about it, he usually saw it in the garden, "I'd say that's stopping it in time."

"Well, yeah, I guess…"

"Thank you," Alfred's eyes went wide as Arthur blushed and looked away, smile still on his face, "for saving me. I'm not sure if I got the chance before, so…"

"You're welcome," Alfred looked away and felt his face heat up as well, "I mean, you would have done the same for me, right?"

"I doubt it would have had the same results, if you haven't noticed, I can't lift as much as you, but… yes, I'd have saved you too, if that's what you mean."

An awkward silence fell between them as Arthur went back to his roses and Alfred looked everywhere that wasn't him. Eventually he settled for lying down on the bench, watching the clouds, listening to the birds and bugs and Arthur in the garden.

Relaxing in this garden, saving people, Arthur's gratitude, they were all things he could get _very_ used to.


	8. Literature

**This chapter was for the Day 12 prompt: Literature.  
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**Enjoy**

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><p>After living in his house for over a year, Arthur decided to enroll Alfred in school. The problem came to selecting which school.<p>

"He can't go to the private school," Roderich argued, "You're claiming him to be your father's bastard. They'll eat him alive."

"Well, he can't go to the public school," came Elizaveta's counter argument, "You're saying he's your brother and a Kirkland. They'll eat him alive there."

"Let's not forget the fact that he's a Super," Alfred added, "No matter which school you send him to, he'll be eaten alive because of that."

"Thank you for your opinion Alfred," Arthur nodded, "Since you've already made it clear that you don't want to further your education, I will go ahead and ignore it."

"It's still a valid point!" Alfred banged a fist on the table, accidently denting it, "Maybe if I could go to a special Super school or something-"

Roderich snorted, "A school for just Supers? That's preposterous. What would they do? Train young Supers how to use their powers for the good of humanity?"

"So basically, what we've established is that at either option, Alfred is going to get eaten alive," Arthur sighed.

"We could always take a third option," Elizaveta suggested.

Alfred let out an excited cheer, "I don't have to go to school?"

"No," she frowned and shook her head, "We could home school you."

"Home school?" the three males echoed.

"Yes, the three of us could just teach him here. Besides, with all of the schooling he's missed, he's bound to be behind anyway. We should at least home school him until he's caught up."

"That sounds like a reasonable idea," Arthur nodded, "We can divide the workload between the three of us."

Alfred pouted and sunk into his chair, "But what if I don't want to?"

"Oh Alfred," Elizaveta smiled at him and pet his head, "You don't have a choice.

And so Alfred's school life began. His mornings consisted of math with Elizaveta, art with Roderich, and history with Arthur, a break for lunch, where they let him outside for a bit and called it recess, then back inside for an afternoon full of music with Roderich, science with Elizaveta, and English with Arthur.

After about a week into it, Alfred was seriously considering running away again.

"Alfred!" Arthur barked, "You've got to pay attention! These books aren't going to read themselves."

Alfred rolled his eyes and sighed. If he were in a real classroom full of other students, he could have hidden in the back to fall asleep at the boring lecture Arthur was giving on whatever book he had him read today. As it was, Arthur's attention was focused only on him. He should have just taken the public school option when it was still on the table.

"I don't see how these books, or any of this schooling really, is going to help me in the real world," Alfred drummed his fingers against his makeshift desk.

"Really child," Arthur shook his head, "how else do you expect to become a productive member of society if you don't have a proper education?"

"Well, considering I can bench press about three tons without breaking a sweat and most members of society hate me for it, I don't really see me becoming a productive member any time soon."

Arthur frowned, "Don't use that as an excuse not to do well. Alfred, you're a brilliant young man who can do anything he wants. I'd hate to see all of your potential go to waste for the completely silly reason that society won't accept you."

"Maybe, strength or not, I just don't want to be a member of society. Did you ever think of that?"

"Alfred, you can't keep looking for Matthew for forever! It's been over a year. If he wants to you to find him, don't you think you would have found him by now?"

"I'm _not_ going to give up on Mattie," he glared, "not when he would _never_ give up on me!"

"I'm not… saying you should give up," Arthur glared right back at him, "I'm saying, you should do more with your life then wait around for your brother to show up. There's a whole world out there, just waiting for you to discover it," he picked up one of the books in front of him, "That's why I want you to get an education, that's what these books can show you, _that's_ why they matter. There's a big wide world out there, outside of these grounds, outside of your brother, and it's yours to discover, if you want to."

Alfred picked up the book on his desk, "What kind of 'discovery' can I do by catching rye anyway?"

"_Catcher in the Rye_ is about growing up, a classic coming of age story. As for what you discover in it, that's up to you," Alfred flipped through the book as he continued, "Not all novels are the same. Some are to teach lessons, and others are just good for escaping. Honestly Alfred, one of the best ways to escape from everything is into a good book, if you just let it take you."

Alfred grimaced and put the book down, but didn't interrupt Arthur for the rest of the lecture.

Later that night, when Arthur went into the study to look for his lost reading glasses, he found Alfred, curled up asleep on the couch, an open copy of _Cather in the Rye_ on the floor beside him. He couldn't help the small smile that graced his lips as he carried the boy to bed.


	9. Sewing

**This chapter was for the Day 13 prompt: Sewing.  
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**Enjoy**

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><p>Alfred had always had a habit of staying out later than Arthur would have liked. He was 'looking for Mattie,' and since Arthur never had the heart to tell him to just give it up, he would let him. For the most part he came back in good condition and he had always come home before 10. Lately, however, he'd been coming back later and later with more and more injuries.<p>

But Arthur was definitely not worried.

"Stop worrying about him," Elizaveta sighed as she continued doing laundry, "If he's in any real trouble, he'd tell us."

"He keeps coming home beaten and bloody," Arthur protested, "What do you think he's doing if he's not getting into trouble?"

"He's a teenager now," she shrugged and put some more shirts into the washer, "it's only natural that he comes home late a little worse for the wear."

"A little – Elizaveta, did you see his face last Wednesday? That's a bit more than worse for the wear!" When she only shrugged and continued with her work, he began to piece it together, "You know something I don't."

"W-what?" she let out a high pitched giggle and continued chucking clothes into the washer, "I have no idea what you're talking about Master Arthur."

Arthur gave her a wither glare that she continued to ignore, "Fine then, keep your secrets. I'll find them out some other way." As he turned to storm off, he noticed a pile of Alfred's clothes in the corner of the laundry room, "What's wrong with these?"

"They need to be mended," Elizaveta waved him off, "Small tears and things. Don't worry; I'll get to them soon."

Arthur took the liberty to pilfer through the pile. While some of the clothes did indeed have small tears, they were also ripped and torn in many more places. Most had at least one large hole, while others had buttons and sleeves completely torn off. He gathered them all up in a basket telling her, "You've been working so hard. I'll take care of these," as he left the laundry room.

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><p>Arthur had been mending Alfred's clothes in the study for a good two hours before Roderich came in to join him. He hadn't offered to help him mend anything, but was more than willing to indulge him in his skepticism about Alfred's nighttime activities.<p>

"He could be into drugs," Arthur said as he violently finished stitching on a sleeve, "It always goes back to drugs."

"I highly doubt its drugs," Roderich rolled his eyes as he played with one of Arthur's spare needles, "Maybe he is just hanging out with his friends like a normal teenager?"

"What friends?" he tied the thread off and cut it, giving the sleeve a few good tugs to see if it was tight enough, "He lives and goes to school here. He's not in contact with anyone he was at the orphanage with."

"That you know of," Roderich peered at him over his glasses, "Perhaps he still has a friend or two from that place that still talk to him."

Arthur threaded the needle again, this time with red thread, as he picked up a red shirt and began stitching up the holes in that, "Doubtful. The only person he's ever mentioned from that place is Matthew, and sometimes Gilbert."

"Well, most likely, he actually is still looking for Matthew. Did that ever cross your mind?"

"His behavior is changing. If he was still doing the same actions, why would his behavior be changing?"

"He's been at it for over a year," Arthur paused in his sewing to focus on his butler, "He might be getting desperate, resorting to other means to try and find him."

"Like, violence to get the information he seeks?" he shook his head and went back to his sewing, "That's not Alfred."

"Desperation brings out the worst in us."

"That's _not _Alfred."

They descended into silence, save for Roderich tapping the needle in his hands and the soft sounds of Arthur's mending. Eventually Roderich broke it, "Over a year of searching on his own and you don't think it odd that he hasn't asked us for help?"

"It's his brother, it's his quest," Arthur focused on his sewing, "He wants to do it himself."

"You and I both know there is next to no chance of Matthew still being on the streets even by the time you found Alfred let alone over a year later. I'm sure by now, even Alfred would be aware of his brother's probable situation?"

Arthur bit the thread loose and tied it into a knot before he tested the holes and tossed it aside, pulling a pair of navy blue trousers off the pile and threaded his needle with blue thread, "Are you saying he's in denial?"

"Maybe. I'm sure if you actually found where Matthew ended up for him, it would put his mind at ease."

"Me?" Arthur raised an eyebrow, never taking his eyes off his work, "Why me?"

"Because you're one of if not the richest people in the city. I'm sure he's figured out by now that money means everything in this city; if you wanted to, you could find out what happened to Matthew within matter of days if not hours."

"Orphaned Supers are hard to find, no matter how much money you throw at it," he shook his head and kept stitching, "I will take your advice into consideration."

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><p>"Arthur?" Alfred called out as he entered the study, "Have you seen my yellow shirt? Elizaveta said you brought a bunch of stuff up here to mend?"<p>

"Hm?" Arthur looked up from the socks he was darning and the sudden voice, Roderich had left him alone over an hour ago, "It's probably somewhere in that pile over there."

Alfred crouched down and started digging through the pile. Arthur set aside the sock and spent a few minutes openly staring at him before asking, "What's wrong Alfred?"

"Wrong?" he questioned, still searching through the pile, "Nothing's wrong. Why do you ask?"

"Your clothes have been rather torn of late. What have you been doing to cause them to be so?"

"Nothing out of the ordinary. Just a few scuffles here and there. It only looks like a lot because Elizaveta keeps putting off fixing them and piling them up in the kitchen.

"Alfred you're not a very good liar," Alfred froze and turned, still crouched, to face him. Arthur looked between the clothes scattered throughout his study before settling back on his face, "Why won't you tell me what you're up to?"

"It's a secret," he pouted and glanced away for half a second before returning his attention to Arthur, "I can't tell you."

Arthur tried to keep the hurt off his face, "Does it have to do with finding your brother?"

"Uh, a bit. I mean, yeah, what I'm doing is going to help find him."

"Alright," Arthur leaned forward in his chair to pull out the yellow shirt Alfred had been looking for. He placed it in his hands with an, "At least tell me what you're doing is… good. That you're not getting into trouble."

"It is good," Alfred smiled at the thought, "It's great even, and I'm not… getting into trouble, or at least not the bad kind?"

"Well what other kind is there?" Alfred had no answer, and Arthur let it drop.

"I'm sorry if I'm worrying you Arthur," Alfred looked him right in the eyes, "And I know you are, don't try to deny it, but trust me when I say that I'm not doing anything… wrong."

He handed him back the shirt with a weak smile, "That's all I could ask for."


	10. Camping

**This chapter was for the Day 15 prompt: Camping/hiking.**

**Vlad = Romania. I sort of latched on to the words 'friendly,' 'mischievous,' and 'eccentric' in his profile and ran with it, so sorry if he's not what you expect.  
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**Enjoy.**

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><p>Alfred was surprised to find that Arthur actually did have a friend.<p>

His name was Vlad, he was two years older than Arthur, and he liked to show up unannounced, as Alfred found out when he answered the door and was pulled into a hug.

"Arthur my friend!" he exclaimed as he stepped into the house, "It is so good to see you after so long! Have you gotten shorter?" he stepped away to look at Alfred properly, "Oh dear, your eye color has changed as well, and your hair is a tint lighter," he reached a hand up to play with Alfred's flyaway hair, "You should lay off the turnips."

"I'm, not Arthur…"

"Yes, that would explain it," he swept his hat off his head in an over the top bow, "It is wonderful to make your acquaintance kind sir! My name is Vlad, and I am looking for Arthur Kirkland."

"Uh, hello, I'm Alfred," he shuffled his feet before stepping aside to let Vlad in, "Arthur's in his study, so-"

"Excellent! We shall meet him there!" Vlad grabbed Alfred's arm and dragged him up the stairs and to the study as if _he_ was the one who lived in the house.

"Arthur my friend!" he shouted as he threw the door open, "I have the most wonderful news, and-" he cut himself off when he noticed Elizaveta was also in the room. She had been pouring Arthur tea, and stopped to glare at him.

"Hello Count," she greeted in a falsely cheery voice, "I see you still look like a bitch."

"Good afternoon Lizzie," he smiled, "I see you still look and smell like an ass."

"Vlad!" Arthur stood up and positioned himself between them, "How nice of you to show up completely unannounced. Care for some tea?" he gestured towards the table.

"Indeed," Vlad sat down and snapped his fingers, "Lizzie, get us some tea like a good little bitch."

Elizaveta, who was still holding the tea pot, unceremoniously dumped the rest on his head. "Oops, it slipped. Maybe if your head wasn't so big it might have missed."

Vlad winced as the hot tea rolled down his head but refused to acknowledge any other pain, "Well that's not surprising for a spazzy klutz like you. We're just lucky you didn't hit Arthur and Alfred as well."

She responded by slamming the tea pot over his head, causing it to break, "Oops, it slipped, although I must say, any desecration of your face is an improvement." she giggled before taking her leave.

"Vlad your head is bleeding," Arthur pointed out as he sat down opposite his friend, leaving Alfred standing in the doorway, wondering what just happened.

"Never mind that now my friend," his face was full of the same excitement it had when he first showed up, "We're going on a camping trip!"

Arthur froze with the tea cup halfway to his mouth, "A what now?"

"A camping trip! In the Hoia Baciu Forest! Doesn't that sound fun?"

"That sounds awesome!" Alfred answered as he sat himself between them, "When are we leaving?"

"Tonight, if we can! The sooner the better!"

"You want to drag us to haunted woods in the middle of the night?" Arthur sipped his tea and smirked, "Vlad my friend, what have you found?"

Alfred paled, "Did you say the woods were haunted?"

"I have found Dracula's Medallion my friend," he smirked as well, and Alfred was starting to get uncomfortable sitting in between them, "Or so my contact says."

"Yes, your contact," Arthur rolled his eyes as he placed his teacup on the table, "Because this mysterious contact of yours has been so reliable in the past."

"This time it's good," Vlad gave him a thumbs-up.

"I suppose you're not going to relent until I say yes," he sighed and looked around the room, "I take it Nikolas isn't with you?"

Vlad blinked, "I assumed he would be with you."

Arthur frowned, "I suppose we can take Alfred with us to complete the trinity."

"Yeah, about that," Alfred cleared his throat, "can we go back to that haunted woods thing, and can someone explain to me what you're talking about?"

"The Hoia Baciu Forest is the most haunted forest in all of Romania," Vlad explained with an excited look on his face, "Dracula's Medallion is a legendary magical artifact that I have been searching for! If I find it, it will help me a long way with my research!"

"Okay, well, ignoring the ghosts, which I'm definitely not afraid of, and the magic, which doesn't exist," Alfred counted off on his fingers, "What research are you doing?"

"It is on the Super epidemic! I am trying to find out where it started, you see."

"E-epidemic?" Alfred felt his heart sink. Vlad had seemed like a nice guy, but…

"Don't mind him," Arthur sipped his tea and gave Alfred a comforting smile, "English isn't his first language and he gets excited easy. He's referring the spread of Supers in recent years, how it's spreading quickly and is more widespread. Vlad's not trying to imply it's a bad thing."

"Oh yes," Vlad was grinning, "Excuse my inadvertent word choice. Forgive me for asking Alfred, but are you Super?"

"I, uh…" his eyes found Arthur's, who took the liberty to answer for him.

"Yes, Alfred is Super."

"Fantastic!" Vlad cheered as he looked Alfred over in a new light, "Then yes, he definitely comes with us!"

"And we're leaving tonight?" Arthur asked.

"Yes! Tonight! Right now!" Vlad stood up and rand over to the door, "I already packed enough everything for all of us so I didn't have to wait for you! Tell your whore of a maid you are leaving and let us hit the road, as they say!"

And with that, he bounded out of the room, leaving a very confused Arthur and Alfred to follow in his wake.

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><p>Alfred couldn't sleep. Partly due to the howling winds outside his lone tent (Vlad had brought three small tents, to give everyone their privacy, or so he claimed) that were probably ghosts, partly because <em>something<em> had been calling his name for the past hour. Every five minutes, he would hear a clear, unmistakable call of _Alfred_, as if it was coming from somewhere inside his tent, or his head…

The wind struck the side of the tent just as the call went out again, freaking Alfred out enough to brave going outside of his tent to sneak into Arthur's. He silently cheered for not waking him as he lay down next to him when he heard a sleepy voice mutter, "Alfred what are you doing?"

"I uh, thought I heard ghosts, so I came in here to protect you, so-"

Suddenly Alfred felt an arm wrap around him and pull him close, "If you're scared, just say so, I'm tired and want to sleep."

Alfred snuggled closer to Arthur's warmth and spent all of five seconds trying to sleep, "Arthur…"

"What?" Arthur whined in his ear.

Alfred shifted so he was more comfortable, "About this thing we're looking for-"

"Dracula's Medallion is an artifact said to have been created by the Dracula to detect magical objects," Arthur answered, "Now please sleep."

"Kay, but Arthur," he heard Arthur groan, but there was no interruption, so he continued, "Why does Vlad want it for his Super research?"

"Vlad is a magical scientist," Alfred mad a face that he knew Arthur couldn't see, "It basically means he does scientific experiments, but with magic."

"Arthur, you know magic doesn't exist right?"

"You can toss around cars just for kicks and you're questioning the existence of magic?"

"Th-that's different! That's all genetics, you know, real science."

"Well, Vlad's current theory says otherwise," Alfred stopped talking and listened, "He's always been fascinated with Supers, where did they come from, how is the power distribution determined, things most scientists studying Supers ask. But Vlad thinks that some sort of magical accident caused a mutation to occur in human genes, or something like that. You probably won't be surprised to hear most of the scientific community thinks he's mad, but they leave him alone for the most part if he can prove his insane theories, which is why we're out here, in the middle of the woods, looking for a medallion."

"So he can use the medallion to try and track the original magic's source?" he hazard a guess.

"Hell if I know," Arthur yawned and pulled him even closer, "it's his experiment."

"So, why are we here?"

"Hunting for any magical object is best done in threes."

"But why did he come to you?"

"Because we usually hunt magical objects together," he swore he felt Arthur roll his eyes, "What do you want to hear?"

"Nothing," the wind howled again, and Alfred couldn't help the whimper that escaped his lips.

"You're scared of ghosts yet you claim not to believe in magic," Arthur sighed and rubbed his head, "What am I going to do with you?"

"I'm not scared of ghosts," he said as he shivered in fear.

"Of course not," Arthur gazed at something at the top of the tent, "Well, even if you're not, you're safe with me. I've put up an anti-ghost barrier around my tent already."

"No you didn't," Alfred muttered into his chest, "There's no such thing."

"Yes there is, unless you don't want it to be there?"

"No, I want it!" Alfred practically shouted in his ear, "Don't take it down!"

"Alright, calm down boy," he started petting his head.

The petting succeeded in calming Alfred down enough to be lured into sleep. As he rested his head against Arthur's chest, listening to his heartbeat lull him even further, and a soft kiss on his head. After a whispered, "Good night Alfred," he was sound asleep in his ghost free dreams.


	11. Nighttime

**This chapter was for the Day 16 prompt: Nighttime  
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**Enjoy.**

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><p>Alfred had a secret.<p>

It was a harmless secret, actually it was a helpful one, but it was a secret nonetheless, a secret he had to keep from Arthur.

Every day after the others deemed his school work done for the day, Alfred would don a mask and go out into the city and use his strength to help out wherever he could.

It began when he had been roaming the streets looking for any sign of Mattie. Whenever he saw someone in trouble, say someone getting mugged in a back alley or a purse-snatcher or something, he would step in and help, then continue on his way. No big deal really, at least not to him. Over time, however, his excursions became more about helping people than looking for his brother. Yeah, he still kept his eyes and ears open for any sign of him, but after two years of looking, Alfred had a feeling that he didn't want to be found, if he was still out there.

Elizaveta had found out. At first he didn't try very hard to hide it, and she was the one who did his laundry and taught his last class, so she was able to pick up on the messed up clothing and anxiety to get out of class and put two and two together. She was the one who convinced him to wear a mask and keep it a secret from Arthur. After all, anyone fighting crime in any way was a target, and with Arthur notoriety and wealth, he could easily become a target. Plus, even if he denied it to his grave, he was a mother hen, and Alfred simply didn't want him to worry.

So every night, Alfred would fight crime, and he could never tell Arthur.

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><p>Arthur had a secret.<p>

In essence, it was a harmless secret, as in no one was getting hurt by it, at least no one Arthur knew or cared about. However it was a secret, a secret not even Elizaveta or Roderich knew about.

Arthur was a buyer, trader, and collector of magical artifacts.

It started when he was little. His father gave him a necklace with magical properties, although Arthur was fairly certain he had no idea, or else he wouldn't have given it to him. Arthur had unlocked the necklace's secrets quickly, and he craved more. Not just more magic artifacts, but knowledge about them, where they came from, how to use them, as well. It's the reason he and Vlad became and remained friends.

At first he was convinced one of his artifacts had killed his parents. By that time he had amassed quite a collection, and since he wasn't sure which one did the deed, he panicked and sold them all off. As time wore on, he became less and less sure. Had he just been jumping to conclusions that first night? Was he simply feeling guilty? The official police report was no help in solving this matter, so after two years of being clean, Arthur started buying, trading, and collecting his artifacts again.

Arthur had two problems with his hobby. The first was that only a few people actually believed in magic. Not a lot of people knew that an item the held could be magical, and most people would refuse to trade with him if he brought it up. The other was that most magical artifacts were extremely dangerous. Even if someone was aware that what they owned was magic in nature, they were not willing to hand it over to just anybody, no matter how much money they had to burn.

Alfred didn't even believe in magic. If he did found out about Arthur's hobby, he would not only laugh at him, but also do something stupid and dangerous to prove that magic didn't exist. He couldn't let that happen, for either of their sakes.

So every now and then, Arthur would sneak out in the middle of the night to add to his collection.

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><p>It was a dark night. That was Alfred's first that as he wandered the streets, keeping in the shadows as he kept an eye out for people in distress. When he heard the cry from the nearby alley, he smirked as he rushed in, prepared to help whoever it was that needed him.<p>

What he didn't expect to find was Arthur being shoved roughly against the wall by two men who were twice his size.

Usually when confronting a situation like this, Alfred would give his foes a warning, give them a chance to back off before he hurt them. Arthur was always telling him to watch his strength because he could go overboard sometimes and hurt people more then he means to, so the warning was in place to avoid a fight. Most petty criminals did take head to the warning after the first few months and ran.

When he saw Arthur was the victim, however, he saw red and went straight to the hurting part.

The good part about this strategy was that it got Arthur away from danger. The bad part was now he was alone in an alley with Arthur after he beat up two guys right in front of him. Alfred tried to take the only real option he had and make a run for it, but was stopped by a hand on his wrist.

"Alfred, is that you?" he heard Arthur ask in a soft voice.

"Hahaha!" Alfred laughed in what he hoped wasn't a nervous tone, "I know of no such person, citizen! I am merely an anonymous helper, trying to clear the streets for-"

He was interrupted by Arthur taking his mask off and turning him around more forcefully then necessary.

Alfred swallowed and refused to make eye contact, "I, uh, this isn't what it looks like?"

Arthur wasn't saying anything. That wasn't a good sign, and Alfred still refused to look at his face, concentrating instead on the bag he was holding, where he noticed something gold peeking out.

He couldn't help himself, he had to ask, "Arthur is that a sword?"

Arthur's grip on his shoulders tightened, "That's none of your business."

Alfred ignored him and reached into the bag, pulling out the sword, "It is a sword-"

"Don't touch that!" he snatched the sword away from him.

"I don't see why-"

"It's cursed!" Arthur's shout effectively stopped whatever thought Alfred had, "It's cursed. I, buy and trade items with magical properties…"

Alfred finally looked at his guardian and found that he was staring at the ground, refusing to make eye contact with him, "Arthur, you know magic-"

"I know your thoughts on magic. But just because you don't believe it exists doesn't mean it can't hurt you," Arthur looked up, right into his eyes, and Alfred found he couldn't look away, "And what about you? Is this what you've been doing every night? Running around playing the hero?"

"I, uh, well," Alfred eventually did look away and tried to sink further into the wall, "It's sorta like…yeah, maybe?"

No words were spoken for the longest time before Arthur dropped his bag and pulled Alfred into a hug, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Alfred was frozen with shock at first before he returned the gesture, "Yeah, I'm fine."

He felt Arthur nod as he pulled away and picked up his bag, "We'll, have to talk about this more when we get home. As of right now, let's not mention this to Roderich and Elizaveta alright?"

Alfred grinned and followed him out of the dark, "Your secret's safe with me."


	12. Animals

**This chapter was for the Day 17 prompt: Animals. I swear it's in there somewhere.**

**Tumi = Iceland, btw.  
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**Enjoy.**

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><p>Predictably, Arthur had not been happy about Alfred's nighttime excursions. They talked about it over and over again for the next few weeks, but their talks always ended in a stalemate, with Alfred refusing to give his vigilante ways up and Arthur refusing to let him go out and risk his neck for complete strangers every night. The one thing they were able to agree on was not to tell Roderich or Elizaveta what the other got up to at night.<p>

Arthur knew about Alfred's need to play the hero, knew about it first hand as a matter of fact. He was concerned, not just about Alfred's safety, although that was the chief one, but about his pride as well. In a city as corrupt as theirs, Alfred's good heart and deeds would amount to next to nothing. He was too young, what difference, no matter how heartfelt, could he possibly make?

One day, when having one of their daily private discussions about the subject, they heard Roderich call in his 'this is serious' voice from downstairs, "Arthur! Get down here!"

Arthur and Alfred went downstairs to the sitting room to find Roderich tossing blankets over an unconscious boy, face almost as pale as his hair was, with a puffin sitting on the back of the sofa he was lying on.

"Roderich," Arthur cautiously asked, "Who's he?"

"I was hoping you would tell me," he huffed and turned to face him once his task was complete, "He just showed up at the door and passed out. It was very rude of him."

Arthur raised an eyebrow, "He didn't say anything?"

"Just your standard 'help me.' He's probably looking for a free handout. Somehow found his way to the biggest house in the city hoping for some pity and free food."

"Yes well," Arthur placed the back of his hand on the boy's forehead, "Feed him when he wakes up and send him on his way."

"Yes, I'll see if we have any leftovers anywhere," Roderich huffed and left for the kitchen.

As soon as he was gone, the puffin on the couch started squawking, startling Alfred and Arthur and waking the boy. He seemed dazed as he looked around the room, eyes eventually setting on Arthur.

"Yes, hello," Arthur cleared his throat and stepped forward, "Child, who are you and why are you here?"

The boy looked confused for a moment before his gaze wandered to Alfred.

"Do you even know where you are?" Arthur tried again.

He was panting now as he looked back at Arthur, "Kirkland Manor."

"Yes, good start," Arthur nodded, "Who are you and why are you here?"

The puffin jumped from the couch to his shoulder, "Alfred."

Arthur furrowed his eyebrows, "You're name is Alfred?"

"No," the boy shook his head, "No, I'm looking for Alfred. Alfred Kirkland."

"I'm here," Alfred stepped forward, "That's me."

He absently started stroking the puffin, "Good… I found you…"

"Yeah," Alfred pulled over an ottoman and sat down, "So, what's your name and how can I help you?"

The boy winced and held his head in his free hand, "Tumi. My name is Tumi. I need your help. He said you could help me…"

"Okay," Alfred gave him a reassuring smile, "Yeah, okay, I'll help you. What do you need my help with?"

But Tumi seemed strained by the effort to stay conscious and merely clutched his head more as his breathing became labored.

Alfred jumped out of his seat, "Whoa hey, are you alright? You should have gone to a hospital if you were sick! I'm not a doctor."

"Roderich!" Arthur, who had been silently observing their conversation, rushed over to the kitchen door, "Where is that food?"

"Right here," Roderich reappeared with a tray containing a plate of last night's meatloaf and a glass of water, "Always so impatient."

"Yes, well, the boy seems to be dying," he took the tray and nodded towards the bathroom, "Care to grab a thermometer, a washcloth, and a basin of water?"

Roderich's eyebrow twitched, "Very well," as he went off to do his task.

As Arthur approached the couch Alfred grabbed the water and held it out for Tumi, "Here, drink this," he grabbed the glass from Alfred's hand and greedily drank it all, "Now, can you tell me what's wrong?"

Tumi stared at the food as Arthur placed it on his lap, "It's a bit… complicated."

"Well," Alfred returned to his seat on the ottoman as Arthur made himself comfortable in the armchair, "if you want me to help you, you're going to have to explain something to me."

"Does, does he have to be here?" he stared pointedly at Arthur.

"Considering this is my house, yes, I feel I do have to be here, unless you'd rather lie on someone else's couch and eat someone else's food."

"It's okay," Alfred smiled, "He's not going to hurt you, if that's what you're worried about."

Tumi shook his head as he started on the meatloaf, "It's just, been a long day."

Roderich returned then, shoving the thermometer in Tumi's mouth as soon as he swallowed his food and placing the wet washcloth on his head before leaving the basin of water by Arthur and promptly leaving the room, muttering something about freeloaders as he left.

When the thermometer was done taking his temperature, Arthur leaned over and took it from his mouth. Tumi immediately started eating again as he read out, "Fever, and a high one at that."

"That's normal," Tumi admitted between bites, "I'm afraid I'm a rather sickly child."

"Then why aren't you at home or in a hospital or something?"

"I ran away," he pushed his empty plate aside, "I ran away from home."

"And you want me to help you?"

"Gilbert said you could," Alfred sat up straighter at the mention of his old friend's name, "He said I should come here and you would help me."

"I don't know how-"

"I've heard about you. I've heard you help people, especially people like me."

"Are you a Super?" Arthur asked, causing Tumi to wince.

"I, suppose," his face went red as he turned towards the couch, "I can, talk to animals," Tumi looked distant as he pet his puffin before he he turned back to Arthur, a pleading look on his face, "I didn't ask for any of this! My family is already shamed by my health, and now they have to deal with my abnormalities? I just want them to stop talking to me, the animals. They _always_ talk to me…"

"There's nothing wrong with being Super," Arthur scowled as he crossed his arms across his chest, "And I still don't see what you want from Alfred. He can't make your powers go away."

"I know but, he helps people, on the streets. You may not know this, but everyone is talking about him. Not by name, almost no one knows _who_ he is, just what he does. He helps people, normal and Super alike," Tumi took a few calming breaths before looking right into Alfred's eyes, "I need to leave the city. There's a point, not too far from here, where my brother can meet me. I just, I need him, and I need you to get him to me. Please Alfred, you've helped so many people and I-"

"I get it," Alfred nodded, "I understand. I'll help."

Tumi relaxed for the first time since he woke up, "Thank you. Thank you so much…"

"It's no problem really," Alfred grinned at him, "I like helping people. Gilbert was right to send you to me, but, uh, how do you know him?"

Tumi shrugged as he closed his eyes and slid further into the couch, "Everyone knows Gilbert, and Gilbert knows everyone."

"I see," he would have asked more, but Tumi was already asleep, puffin keeping watch on the back of the sofa.

"You can use the helicopter," Alfred blinked and stared at Arthur, "I know you were thinking about it, so you have my permission."

"Thanks, but I thought you didn't approve. I mean, he only came to me because of my reputation so-"

"Exactly," Arthur sighed and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, "There are hundreds of Supers in this city, some of them make a living on getting Supers out of it without the Bureau detecting them, yet he came to you. I may not like you putting yourself in danger all the time, but I can't deny you're doing a good thing, not just for the people you help but for the city in general."

"Arthur," he smiled, not quite believing what he was hearing, "Are you saying that…"

"Yes, I'm saying you can continue your vigilante activities," Arthur frowned, "But you need to be more careful! Promise me you will."

"Yeah, of course," Alfred grinned in earnest, "Thank you Arthur!"

Arthur turned his face away, refusing to let him see the smile that was slowly creeping on. Yes, the city needed someone like Alfred, no matter how much Arthur tried to deny it. After all, even a little hope can go a long way.


	13. Sightseeing

**This chapter was for the Day 18 prompt: Sightseeing.**

**Enjoy.**

* * *

><p>For Alfred's 15th birthday, Arthur took him for a day out in the city. Outwardly, Alfred complained, he already saw the city every night anyway, what a lame gift Arthur! But inwardly, he was happy the two of them could spend some time together. It seemed like forever since they did something with just the two of the, no nosy Elizaveta or Roderich, none of Alfred's 'clients' in need of help or Arthur's clients in need of privilege, just Arthur and Alfred spending quality time together. It was the best gift Arthur could give him.<p>

Arthur had insisted, since his 'heroing' only showed Alfred the worst of the city, for their day out, he would show him the best. All of the sights it had to offer and only the best that Arthur's money could buy.

They started in the shopping district, or more specifically, and candy and video game store that caught Alfred's eye, which turned out to be most of them. Arthur had indulged him at first, consenting to buy everything he picked out, but when Alfred insisted he wanted to buy the third candy store they went to, Arthur put his foot down and only bought Alfred his most reasonable requests.

Next was lunch at a little Italian restaurant run by two brothers who knew Arthur from some previous transaction. All throughout the meal they tried their best to please Arthur's every whim no matter how ridiculous, resulting in them flailing and tripping over themselves more often than not. They put on a good show, and Alfred managed to become friends with the younger one despite his obvious fear of Arthur.

Arthur insisted on a show to bring more culture into Alfred's meager world, or so he claimed. When Alfred pointed out that, since he lived in his house, any lack of culture fell on his head, Arthur gave his head a gentle whack and said he had no idea what he was talking about. As for the show itself, Alfred found that, surprisingly, it was quite enjoyable, although he couldn't shake the uncomfortable feeling that someone was watching him the whole time.

The last stop on their trip was a tour of the biggest skyscraper in the city, which just so happened to be owned by one Arthur Kirkland.  
>"Excuse me," the lady at the door stopped them as they entered, "State law requires that any Super entering a building higher than 10 stories is to be subjected to a background check and need to be accompanied by at least two proper guardians. Failure to comply with these guidelines will result in immediate expulsion from the premises-"<p>

"Darling, I'm Arthur Kirkland. I own the building," he placed a hand on Alfred's shoulder, "and he's my brother. I'm positive no one will care if you bend the rules."

"I'm sorry Mr. Kirkland, but rules are rules and the law says-"

"Yes, it's a pointless preemptive law set up by a paranoid system," he waved her concerns away, "and I'm sure you're doing an excellent job upholding it, but I would like to remind you that it is me who signs your paycheck, not the government."

She froze for half a second before replacing the sour look on her face with a fake, sugary smile, "Yes, of course Mr. Kirkland and brother. Have a wonderful day!"

"Wonderful," they shuffled passed her and onto an elevator. Arthur pressed the button for the roof and the waited in an almost awkward silence as the elevator slowly made its way up the 145 floors.

"I'm sorry about that," Arthur shuffled his feet and stared at the buttons in front of him, "These new guidelines are completely idiotic, but we really have no choice but to at least attempt to follow them-"

"It's alright Arthur," he smiled over at him, "I know you'd ignore them if you could."

"She was doing far too efficient of a job," he scowled, "I'll have to have a supervisor inform her about company policy. How did she even know you were a Super anyway?"

Alfred shrugged, "She probably just knew I was your brother and that your brother was a Super."

Arthur hummed in agreement as the elevator doors opened to the roof. The two of them quickly stepped outside and watched as the sunset colored the roof in all shades and tints of red and orange. Alfred ran over to the railings over on the edge of the roof and climbed on top of one so he was sitting on it, gazing out at the city. Arthur meandered on over and joined him.

"This view is beautiful," Alfred laughed as they watched the sunset over the city, "Why haven't you taken me up here before?"

"It hasn't crossed my mind, I suppose," too distract by the view, Alfred almost missed the affectionate smile on Arthur's face, "You like it right?"

"Yes, I love it," his smile grew as he turned to face his guardian, caretaker, and above all, friend, "Everything about today was great. Thank you Arthur, for everything."

Arthur nodded and wrapped an arm around his brother's shoulder, content in the moment, letting his smile show unashamed.

Suddenly Alfred twitched and shuddered, "Are you alright?"

"Yeah," he shook his head, "I'm fine, just a headache, I guess."

"Do you want to go home? I can call for the helicopter if you want."

"No, it's fine. I'd rather stay here, at least until the sun's gone."

_Alfred! It is Alfred right? I finally found you. You're a hard man to track you know. I thought I had you in that Romanian forest but-__  
><em>  
><em>Gilbert?<em>

_In the flesh, or well, your mind. Bah, you know what I mean. Long time no see kid._

_Well, I still can't see you, but not important. Where are you?_

_Yeah, can't really talk now, in sort of an emergency, but I need to warn you: Matt's looking for you._

_Matt? I've been looking for him for ages! Where is he?_

_You don't understand kid, this is a _

warning_. You don't want him to find you._

_What's wrong? Why wouldn't I want to see Mattie?_

_I can't explain right now… damn, I'm losing you. Arthur knows, there's a file in his desk, bottom drawer on the left, key is in the untranslated version of The Canterbury Tales on the third shelf in the study, in the middle of the Wife of Bath's Tale._

_Gilbert how – why – what –_

_I have to go now. Just, be careful kid._


	14. Road Trip

**This chapter was for the Day 21 prompt: Road Trip.**

**Enjoy.**

* * *

><p>Arthur expected many things when he woke up that morning. He expected Elizaveta to have breakfast prepared by the time he got downstairs, he expected Roderich to burst in and complain about how he wasted his morning just lying around in bed, he was expecting a cursed ring to be delivered to him sometime that night, but most of all, he expected Alfred to be there at breakfast, like he had for the past 3 years.<p>

Except that he was gone. No note, no warning, no _anything_, just packed his bags, took a helicopter, and left.

Elizaveta was sitting at the kitchen table, head in her hands, completely silent. Roderich was next to her, looking put out more than anything. Arthur was pacing around the room, brainstorming any and all possible reasons for Alfred leaving.

"Maybe it was something I said," he tried to recall every word of every conversation he'd ever had with the boy, "Or maybe it was something you said," He turned on Roderich, who had the gall to look affronted by Arthur's perfect line of reasoning, "Yes, it must have been you who drove him away."

"Would you listen to yourself?" Roderich stood and slammed his hands on the table, making Arthur stop his pacing to stare openly at him. Elizaveta didn't move, "It's obvious what happened. You said he could stay as long as he needed or wanted. Clearly he does not need nor want to stay here anymore."

Arthur sat down at the table as well, "But why? There was no warning! He just left, without a goodbye even. Do three years mean nothing to him?"

"You picked him up off the street, Arthur," Roderich sat down again as well, "It is entirely possible he was simply playing you the whole time. He did steal the helicopter-"

Arthur leaned over to shut him up somehow, but Elizaveta beat him to it with a slap to the face, "Don't you dare say that, Roderich! You know Alfred wouldn't have used us like that!"

"And for only a helicopter?" Arthur crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair, "If he really was conning us, he could have taken more than that."

"I am merely saying it is a possibility," he adjusted the crooked glasses on his face, "It's just a suggestion."

"Well it's a damn poor one."

The room fell into silence again, the three of them refusing to look at each other as the seconds ticked by. Eventually Arthur stood and made to leave the room.

"Sitting around here isn't getting us answers," he said on his way out, "I'm going to find him."

"Don't be ridiculous, Arthur," Roderich sighed, "He fled in the helicopter. You can't chase him down and you have no idea where he went."

Arthur smirked, "I have other flying transportation, Roderich. And maybe I don't know where he's going, but I can easily find out."

* * *

><p><em>"Oh, Arthur my friend. This is a bad time, so can you call back later?"<em>

"No Vlad, it's an emergency."

_"Yes, I understand, but now is really not the best-"__  
><em>  
>"Vlad, for all the times I stayed up late listening to you talk about absolutely nothing, and all the times I accompanied you on one as you followed one of your useless leads searching for whatever, you owe me."<p>

_"I, yes, I suppose I do… what do you need my friend?"_

"Alfred's missing. I need to borrow your tracking amulet, and I know you have one, so don't bother saying you don't."  
><em><br>_"I recall you having a tracking ring of some sort?"__

"I can't seem to find it. I'll be over in a bit to pick it up."

_"Are you taking the Lamborghini? I mean, since you can't take the helicopter, it will take you a while to get here yes?"_

"I have more than one heli- wait, how did you know I can't take the helicopter?"  
><em><br>_"Just a guess! Just assuming, really."_  
><em>  
>"I gave you no reason to assume I wouldn't be taking the helicopter. How did you know I couldn't?"<p>

"_You, mentioned, before, not this conversation but a previous one, how you needed to get someone to look at your helicopter because you thought it was not working._"

"No I didn't. My helicopter is working perfectly fine."

_"Unless Alfred crashed it…"__  
><em>  
>"He's a capable flyer in his own right and – there! Again! How did you know Alfred took a helicopter?"<br>_  
><em>"I, well, there is a perfectly good explanation for that that does not violate your trust of me in the slightest.<em>_"

"Really? Well I'm dying to hear it _friend_."

_"…Arthur, I am a psychic. I've been hiding it from you for years, but I can actually read your mind even over the phone."_

"Yes, nice try Vlad, but I'm not stupid. I've known you and your research for years, there's no way you're a psychic. Tell the truth now and I might forgive you for whatever misdemeanor you pulled this time."  
><em><br>_"Very well, but please do not interrupt my tale. __

__"Last night Alfred called me wanting to know how to use a tracking ring he found in your stash. I gave him basic instructions and he asked if it could track someone who was in Nevada. I said no, it only works in a certain area, like the city or even a few meters outside the city, but not a whole different state. I proceeded to ask me why, and he told me that he was looking for someone in Nevada. I assumed he was joking and told him to take the helicopter. After some polite banter and farewells, he hung up the phone and I went about my night."__

"Vlad, next time I see you, I reserve the right to punch you in the face. And you were not going to tell me you sent him to Nevada?"

_"I did not send him; I just told him how to get there. He was going there on his own anyway. I do wonder who he is looking for in Nevada."__  
><em>  
>"…Matt. He's looking for Matt in Nevada."<p>

_"Oh, yes, Matt. Who's Matt?"_

"His, brother, of sorts. He's been looking for him, and I had tracked him down, and yes, the file's missing, fantastic."  
><em><br>_"Really? Is Matt a Super as well."_  
><em>  
>"Yes, Unhuman Behavior 4C or something, you know the classification system better than I do."<p>

_"Yes, invisibility. Full Body Invisibility with some influence on other objects if he really is a type C._"

"Yes, well, he's been working for the Bureau to track down other Supers, stationed in Nevada normally, but his newest mission was to track down Alfred, not that he knew it was Alfred. I supposed Matthew is back in Nevada."

_"Ah, the vigilante thing. He really does need to come up with a name so people can stop calling him That-One-Super."_

"I'll be sure to mention it to him if I ever see him again. His activities have started an underground reform movement. If the Bureau catches him, I doubt even my influence will be able to save him."

_"And as his guardian, you'll be held responsible for everything."__  
><em>  
>"…Really?"<p>

_"Well, you can unclaim him if you want, and he'll be punished with the status of an unregistered Super, but basically yes. Did you actually read over any of the paper work you got when you registered him?"_

"Skimmed it a little, but that's not the point right now! I need to find Alfred before Matthew does."

_"He still does not know Alfred is the Super he is looking for, but yes, you should find him. Fly your alleged other helicopter over here and I'll come help you. For some reason I feel partly responsible for this whole mess."_

"Maybe because it's all your fault, but thank you. I, well, I appreciate the help."

_"It is no problem Arthur. That is what friends are for."_

* * *

><p>The flight from Vlad's house to Nevada took the better part of 5 hours. Once they finally got there, they still had no idea where to begin looking, and contented themselves to flying all across the state, hoping that Vlad's tracking amulet would be set off by Alfred's presence.<br>When it did go off, somewhere in the middle of the desert, Arthur almost dropped it out of the helicopter in shock. With Vlad's assistance, he was able to land by an outcropping of rocks and begin the search on foot. It didn't take long for them to find the crashed helicopter nearby and for Arthur to assume the worst, even as the amulet told him a different story.

"Alfred? Alfred!" he started running towards the helicopter, Vlad trying and failing to get him to calm down a few paces behind, "Alfred, where are you!"

"Arthur," both men turned to see a dirty, bruised Alfred climb out of a pile of rocks he'd been using for shade, "What took you so long to come get me?"

"You," Arthur stormed over to him and shoved him back against the rocks, driving all the breath from his body, "I've been worried sick about you all day and you just…" he pulled the boy into a hug and held on as if the world depended on him never letting go.

"Sorry," Alfred remained stiff in his arms, "Why didn't you tell me about Matt?"

Arthur froze, "I, I'm sorry. I didn't, you spent so much time and energy looking for him, I didn't want to disappoint you. Is, did you see him at least?"

"Yeah," Alfred sighed, still in Arthur's embrace, still not returning the gesture, "He's mad at me."

"What? Why?" Arthur finally let go, gripping Alfred's shoulders instead, "If anything I assumed it would be reverse."

"No, I'm not mad he's working for the Bureau," he shrugged, "It's not like he has much of a choice. But, he's mad at me because, uh, you spoil me."

"I, what, I don't spoil you-"

"Yes you do," Vlad helpfully supplied from the sidelines.

"I think he's just upset that I found a guardian when he didn't," Alfred leaned forward and wrapped an arm around Arthur's waist, the other around his back, "So, uh, thanks for that. I guess."

"You're welcome," Arthur returned the hug and ignored the heat in his cheeks, "I guess."

"Arthur," he muttered more into Arthur's shoulder than anything else, "Can we go back home now?"

Arthur smiled against his hair, "If that's what you want."

"Yeah," Alfred nodded as Vlad left them alone to start up the helicopter, "I really do."


	15. Rain

**This chapter was for the Day 23 prompt: Rain.**

**Enjoy.**

* * *

><p>Matthew didn't like the rain. It was raining the day they came for him, the day he ran, it was raining the day they finally caught him, it was raining the day he saw Alfred for the first time outside the orphanage, hand in hand with Arthur Kirkland, looking happier than he had ever seen him, and it was raining now, the day he had to turn his former brother in.<p>

Matthew had found out the day they went to take Alfred away too; it wasn't hard, considering he was technically one of them now, and had tried to give him some kind of warning or buy him time. When that had failed, he'd lost hope, something others in his situation warned him not to do if he could avoid it.

When he found out Alfred had not only successfully evaded his captures, but was also looking for him, Matthew was over the moon. He was also, unfortunately, too ashamed of his current situations, of the things the Bureau had him do, to see his brother again. When he finally did, it was to find that Alfred had moved on, replaced him with money and _Arthur Kirkland_ of all people.

Alfred had become privileged, the very thing Matthew had grown to despise. Like it or not, Matthew had come to accept that the brother he knew was long gone.

Even when, a few years later, Alfred had found him in Nevada, told him that he had never given up on him, Matthew couldn't believe him, not when he was living with the richest man in the city, who could easily have found and become his guardian as well. He told Alfred as much, and was stunned when he claimed that he had never thought of having Arthur sponsor both of them, that it was a great idea. Insincerity and lies were all Matthew heard, and that's why he started the fight.

Alfred was strong, as always, and he had gotten a lot better at fighting over the years, but he still had trouble finding what he couldn't see, and although Matthew took a few solid punches (he ignored how, with Alfred's strength, they should have hurt more than they did), in the end, he managed to push him off the cliff.

He had hoped that would have been the last he'd ever see of Alfred Kirkland. But now here he was, face to face with the boy he used to call brother, the rain pouring down on both of their heads.

"Alfred," he spoke after what seemed like eons of silence, "It was, you the whole time?"

Alfred, unmasked and on his knees in the rain, frowned and looked up at him with those big blue eyes, "Are you surprised?"

And when he thought about it, about the Alfred he used to know, it wasn't that surprising at all, "But why?"

"People are getting hurt," his frown was now accompanied by a glare, "Innocent people, getting hurt by your Bureau. I got tired of just sitting back and letting it happen, so I took action."

"And the Freedom Fighters? The other 'resistance' groups?" Matthew found himself becoming angry, "Those were yours too?"

"No," he had the audacity to smirk, "Hope spreads faster than fear, you know?"

Matthew went to punch him, but Alfred was able to stop and grab his fist. Making it vanish only made him hold on tighter.

"I never forgot about you Mattie," Alfred looked at him with imploring eyes as he slowly stood up, "I'm not replacing you with Arthur or his money."

"Then what is he to you?" Matthew grit his teeth, "Congratulations, you found me. Now why do you need him?"

"He's not a replacement for you," he repeated as Matthew threw another punch that he easily caught in his other hand, "He's Arthur. He helped me and together we can help you too."

That would be nice, that would be so nice if Alfred and his rich guardian could sweep in and take him away from the Bureau, but Matthew was too good at finding and bringing in Supers. They would never let him go, not even for the whole of the Kirkland fortune.

And Alfred, so optimistic, having unconditional faith in Arthur, just like he used have in him.

It was then that it hit him. Alfred hadn't changed at all; Arthur hadn't done anything to him except perhaps make him a better person. _Matthew _was the one that changed, and not for the better, he was starting to realize.

He went slack in Alfred's grip and, noticing, Alfred released him, "We can help you Mattie. Arthur's really good at working the system and-"

"There's no point," Matthew shook his head, "You can't get me out of the system now Alfred, but, thank you for trying."

"Mattie…"

"You need to get out of here," Matthew looked over his shoulder, "The others are coming. I can try to buy you time but-"

His words were cut off by his brother's hug.

"I'm sorry," Alfred muttered in his ear, "I'm sorry I can't save you."

"You can't always save everyone," Matthew awkwardly patted his back, "Don't beat yourself up over it. Just, take good care of yourself, and Arthur, if he means that much to you."

Alfred nodded as he pulled back. After one last look, he turned and scampered up the fire escape, making his exit.

"Williams!" one of the other agents shouted as he ran into the alley, "Did you see him?"

"No," Matthew shook his head, "He wasn't here."

"Well quit dawdling and let's keep moving! We have to find him!" he barked as he turned and ran from the alley.

Matthew gave one last look to the man on the rooftop watching over him before he followed.

* * *

><p>"Arthur?" Alfred called out as he entered the mansion, shaking the raindrops from his hair all over the place, "I'm back."<p>

"In here," he called from the sitting room. Alfred followed his voice and found him sitting on the sofa, book in one hand and tea cup in the other, "You sound exhausted. Did everything go alright?"

Instead of answering, Alfred collapsed onto the sofa, upper body in Arthur's lap while his feet dangled off the side, and wrapped his arms around his torso, burying his face in his chest.

"A-Alfred?" he heard Arthur set down his tea cup; "You're a bit old for this aren't you?"

Alfred responded by tightening his hold, but not so much that he hurt him, "Can I just, stay like this for a bit?"

He felt Arthur sigh as his fingers started running through his hair. Content, Alfred allowed himself to fall asleep to the sound of Arthur's heartbeat.


	16. Smile

**This chapter was for the Day 24 prompt: Smile.**

**Enjoy.**

* * *

><p>Alfred first met Francis Bonnefoy when he was 14. Upon first seeing Alfred, he had said, "Alfred I presume, <em>oui<em>? Arthur talks so much about you. _Enchanté,"_ and kissed both his cheeks. He claimed to be an old, dear friend of Arthur's who had recently moved back to the city and wanted to check in with his old, dear friend. Arthur had called him a no good froggy gitface and kicked him out.

When he was 16, Alfred had the pleasure to be introduced to Mayor Bonnefoy, the first mayor in over a decade to be elected on a pro-Super platform. He had once again kissed Alfred on both his cheeks and exclaimed about how big he had gotten and how they really must catch lunch sometime. Arthur had called him a no good froggy cheese eating gitface, but this time invited him into his private office for a chat.

Alfred remembers because that was around the time Arthur lost his smile.

Roderich had been thrilled as he told Alfred that this was because he was working with Francis to pass a Super Reform Bill, which eased up the control of unregistered Supers by allowing them to choose their own career path and changed the Guardian System so that it was less like indentured servitude (which, Alfred was appalled to find out, was what most guardian/Super relationships were. Him and Arthur were an extraordinary case) and put Supers on more equal terms. By taking part in this bill, Roderich claimed, Arthur was taking on more of the responsibility of his station, _doing_ things instead of just complaining about them, and, in effect, finally growing up. Elizaveta had been saddened by the realization, but proud at the same time.

This may have been true, but all Alfred could see was that Arthur was unhappy.

When he had confronted him about it, Arthur gave him a smile – a fake smile, not a real one – and told him that he was just a little tired from having to work with Francis and not to worry about it. If anything, that made Alfred worry about it even more.

He was determined to get Arthur's real smile back, no matter what it took. However, he still had his nighttime heroing duties to attend to, eating away at chunks of his time. Between that and Arthur's continuing work with Francis, the two of them were crossing paths less and less these days.

And the heroing was getting harder every night. While he still vehemently disagreed with them, the anti-Supers did have a point; wherever there were superheroes, super-villains were quick to follow. More and more, Alfred was finding that his adversaries were not only normal Bureau members or even Super Bureau members, but Super citizens as well, seeking retribution or liberation by causing trouble for everyone, and Alfred protected everyone, because he was a hero and that's what he did.

And that's what he was doing tonight. His foe was a fire user, not much older than him, but still very skilled, who came from another rich family who had hidden him away from the public eye and was now lashing out by burning, well, everything. He did shout his final objective as loudly as his motives. Alfred was having enough trouble trying to put out his fires let alone actually stopping him, and had already gotten a few nasty burns.

_Need a hand, kid?_ A familiar voice said in his head.

_Gilbert?_

_Who else do you know that can hack into your head?_

_Just checking. Help would be nice, yeah._

No sooner had he thought that, his opponent had ceased firing his fire in favor of clutching his head. Alfred took the chance to knock him out with a blow to the head and tie him up for the police to find.

"Kesese, I've always wanted to do that," Alfred looked up to see Gilbert, a little older, a little leaner, but with the same mischievous glint in his red eyes, leaning against a nearby lamppost, smirking down at him, "Pity about him, though. What a waste of potential."

"Gilbert!" Alfred rushed forward and hugged his friend, who eagerly returned it, "I haven't seen you in forever!"

"It's great to see you too, kid," Gilbert grabbed on to his shoulders and held him back a bit so he could get a good look at him, "Looks like Arthur's been treating you right. How have you been?"

"I've been doing good," he shrugged as he looked over his friend. Gilbert had been on the cusp of puberty when Alfred had last saw him, scared and making a run for it. He had grown out of it splendidly, facial features more defined, limbs full of muscles that weren't there before, a few new scars, a particularly noticeable one by his left eye, and the scared, helplessness of childhood had been replaced by the confidence and knowledge of adulthood. In short, Gilbert had grown up, "What have you been up to? I was sure they had caught you…"

"They did," Gilbert's smirk widened, "but it's hard to keep a good telekinetic down. They had me doing spy work, which came with some extra training, which I eventually used to escape. I eventually met up with some people and helped form the Freedom Fighters, and actually, that's why I'm here now."

Alfred had heard about the Freedom Fighters, it was impossible not to. They were an underground band of Supers who, like him, were fighting for justice under the cover of night, although rumors said they had political ties as wall. Alfred didn't much care for their non-Super casualty rate, but couldn't help but praise their good work.

"What do the Freedom Fighters want with me?"

Gilbert wrapped an arm around his neck, and if his grin got any wider, it would run off his face, "Al, let me introduce you to my boss…"

* * *

><p>And that's how Alfred met Francis Bonnefoy, leader of the Freedom Fighters, for the third time.<p>

"Ah, it's always a delight to see you, young Alfred," exclaimed Francis as he, once more, kissed him on both cheeks, "Welcome to our abode!"

The abode was in actuality a basement full of some of the most comfortable chairs Alfred had ever seen, as well as desks and tables of all shapes and sizes, filling cabinets, and a telephone which was currently being used by a woman in the corner with dark hair and glasses, who Alfred was told could turn into a cat.

Francis, as it turned out, was what he dubbed a 'Secret Super;' he didn't let anyone outside of only the most elite of the Freedom Fighters know he was actually a Super (some sort of perfume power, Francis had explained, and demonstrated. Alfred had found it disappointing the leader of this Super-justice-group had such a lame power, but Francis insisted that there were many ways messing with the sense of smell could come in handy), and by doing so, was able to work with the system to get their reform. Of course he hated to hide, he claimed, but by doing so now, he was hoping to create a world where no one else had to anymore.

"Alfred, let me get straight to the point," he had set down his wineglass (Alfred had coffee in his mug) and leaned over the table, "I've heard about what you've been doing these past few years. Not only from Gilbert, who has been keeping an eye on you, but from rumors on the street, the Bureau's files, and Arthur, although those sources never use your name. I think it's marvelous, doing some good in this city, in this world even, at such a young age. As such I would like to recruit you for the Freedom Fighters newest project of extending our reach into other areas across the country."

"What, like, heroing in other cities?"

"Yes," the man sitting next to Francis, Antonio was his name, Alfred recalled, he had some sort of sunshine power that wasn't properly explained, nodded, "Yes that's part of it. Your part anyway."

"The main goal is to spread our ideology, promoting Super welfare in any way that we can," Francis explained, "Hopefully we'll gain enough support to make actual changes to the system as a whole, not just city by city, state by state."

"It's an amazing opportunity!" Antonio smiled, "You'll be working with me, and Gilbert, if we can swing it, helping to stop Super abuse in New York or Chicago or San Francisco would be nice too."

"And Sophie," Francis nodded to the cat girl on the other side of the room, "Will be handling the political side. So what do you think? Is this something that would interest you, Alfred?"

Yes, it was something that would interest him, helping people on a large scale, but when he thought about it, really thought about leaving the city he had known all his life, he came up with an image of Arthur, alone in his study, shutting himself away from the world.

"…What about Arthur?" he couldn't help but ask, making Antonio pout and lean back in his seat and Francis to raise an eyebrow.

"Arthur would remain your guardian, if that's what you're worried about," Francis took a sip of his wine, "At least until we dispose of that system. He wouldn't be going with you, if _that's_ what you're worried about. Not because we mind him going, although it will make it very obvious who you were, but because he'll be too stubborn to leave."

Alfred frowned and sipped his coffee, "I don't know…"

"It'll be great though!" Antonio shouted, causing Sophie to throw a stapler on her desk at him, "You'll be helping so many people!"

But, Alfred was shocked to realize, there was really one person he _wanted_ to help right now, and leaving wouldn't help him at all. "I've noticed you have, a fairly lack stance on what happens to non-Supers," he said instead.

Francis frowned and swirled his wine, "Yes, in our early days we were a bit callus and painted all non-Supers with the same brush. We are making strives to improve that particular stance of some of the younger, more eager members of our organization," he gave Antonio a pointed look.

Alfred shook his head, "Um, thanks and all, but I kinda like it here. And I think I can do more good doing what I'm doing."

Antonio was about to protest but Francis cut him off, "If that's what you want, I will not hinder you. I do hope, however, should the need arise, I can count on you for assistance. It would go both ways of course; if you ever need help, I'm sure Gilbert or one of our other members will be more than happy to offer you aid. One can never have enough allies in this fight, after all."

"Yeah, I'd like that."

* * *

><p>Alfred had snuck back in, later than usual, to find that Arthur was still awake, frowning at a document in his study.<p>

"Alfred?" Arthur stood and crossed the room when he noticed him, "You're a bit late. And what happened to your arms?"

"Yeah sorry, I got a bit held up," he lifted an arm to see what Arthur was talking about, "Oh yeah, fire-guy. It happens."

"Come here," he gently took his hand and led him back downstairs and into the bathroom, seating him on the toilet, "I'm sure we have some burn cream around here somewhere. Take your shirt off."

Alfred did as instructed, taking in Arthur as he dug through the medicine cabinet, his entire persona reeking of anxiety. Before he could ask him about it, Arthur had said, "So, have you been talking to Francis?"

This made Alfred uncomfortable, and he focused his attention on the floor tiles instead, "Uh, a little I guess."

"I've known Francis for years. His parents were friends with my parents," he sighed and knelt down into Alfred's sight, squirting some burn cream on Alfred's arms, "He told me about his plan. It's, a good one. Something you'd like, I suppose."

Alfred didn't say anything at first; concentrating on the cool feeling from the cream rather than the heartbreak he could hear under Arthur's words, "I, turned him down."

Arthur paused in his treatment, "Why?"

"I, uh, wanted to stay here," he felt his cheeks flare up and he stared resolutely at the tiles, "It's a nice city."

Arthur continued rubbing the cream into his arms, "I wouldn't have minded if you went."

"I know," Alfred closed his eyes, and he did know that that's what Arthur would have told him, not wanting to be a burden or guilt trip him into doing something he didn't want to. When did he know so much about Arthur? "But, I didn't want to leave you," that part came out as a whisper. He quickly looked up to see if Arthur somehow, hopefully, hadn't heard it.

But he did. It was clearly written in the first clear, real smile Alfred and seen on his face in what seemed like forever, and Alfred couldn't help but smile too.

"That's not necessary," Arthur turned his attention back to Alfred's arms, smile still on his face, "I can handle myself well enough without you. Did before you showed up."

This was commonly known to be a lie, but Alfred let it pass, "Yeah, but I dunno what I'd do without you either," and, he was shocked to realize, this was not a lie.

Arthur stood up, recapping the burn cream and placing it on the counter, "Well I'm, glad," he took Alfred's hand and gave it a squeeze.

Alfred gave him the best smile he could muster, hoping it would be enough to convey his feelings.

Judging by the smile he got in return, it had done that and more.


	17. Nekotalia

**This chapter was for the Day 26 prompt: Nekotalia. It's a first person narrative, so consider yourself warned.  
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**Enjoy.**

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><p>I never liked humans. They were cruel, needlessly violent, and reeked something awful. Yes, at one point I too had a human, but that was a mistake. He was horrible, even by human standards, and when he was carted away I was left alone and homeless, which suited me just fine. I didn't need anyone, especially not some human.<p>

I may have overestimated myself a little with that. When living on the streets, there is nothing wrong with accepting the help of perfectly able bodied tomcats if the opportunity arises. After all, it helps to avoid situations like this.

I was surrounded by humans, tall, menacing, cruel humans, armed with rocks and sticks and one who could turn his hand into a fireball, but that's neither here nor there. The point was, I was at their mercy, of which they had none, and they were content to slowly torture me to death.

As I was reviewing my life choices, wondering if there was anything I could have done differently to avoid this situation (there wasn't, at least there wasn't anything I was actually willing to do), I heard his voice for the first time.

"Hey! What are you idiots doing?"

It should be noted that I, unlike most of my fellows, can understand Human, as well as several dialects of Dog, Bird, and Mongoose. I can't speak the language, because who would really want to? Human is such an asinine language I'm constantly shocked that even humans are willing to degrade themselves to speak it.

But I digress.

The group of humans ran off when the Voice, who I found out a bit later, as you will see, is called Alfred, shouted at them. I felt little relief at the time. Sure the group of humans was gone, but there was still one left, and since he had made all the others run away, he must be even worse. Sadly there was very little I could do at this time but accept my fate.

"Hey," I felt a light touch on my head, "Are you okay little guy?" before I knew no more.

* * *

><p>I woke up in a new place, outside of that dreary alley I was caught in before. This place had bright lights and warmth. I briefly wondered if I was in some form of heaven before I heard the human speak.<p>

"I'm sorry but there's nothing I can do, Alfred!"

"You have to do something!" The human from before, Alfred, he must have brought me here, "You fix me up all the time!"

"You are human! I understand how the human body works and can fix minor things that go wrong with it. This is a _cat_, Alfred! It's a completely different biological make-up, and its injuries are more severe than your bumps and bruises."

"There has to be something we can do," and he actually sounded distressed by this as I slowly faded back into unconsciousness.

* * *

><p>"<em>Hello? Can you hear me?<em>"

I blinked my eyes open and looked around this new place. It was bright and warm, just like the last place, although that place struck me as more artificial light, while this place was lit up more by the sunlight coming in from the windows than anything else. The warmth, I realized, was coming from the mountain of blankets wrapped around me.

I looked eagerly around the room for whoever it was that was speaking Cat. If there was another cat here, perhaps we could hatch an escape plan together. However my quick survey of the room revealed no cats, only three humans, two standing a ways off, the third a respectable distance away from my face. A squawk from somewhere overhead alerted me that there was a puffin in the room somewhere as well.

Most puffins don't bother learning Cat, so who on earth was speaking it?

"_You look like you're awake now_," I balked, the Cat was coming from the human! Of all the things, a human, speaking Cat. My mind was taking a while to process it, "_Can you hear me? Are you alright?"_

"_He's a cat kid!_" the puffin squawked overhead, "_He ain't gonna listen to what you say unless it's about tuna or naps."_

I felt rage starting to boil up inside me. I hated this puffin already, _"Yes, because having a thought process consisting entirely of clouds and fish is a much better option!"_

The puffin landed on his human's shoulder, "_Well look who's finally awake, lazy cat._"

I growled, and attempted to stand up in a pounce position, but my body seemed heavier than usual. Perhaps it was the blankets.

"_If you're going to antagonize him_," the human said, in Bird this time, "_then you can just leave._" The puffin pecked his head but shut his beak. The human was apparently satisfied with this as he turned to me and switched back to Cat, "_Are you alright? I fixed you up as best I could, so tell me if anything still hurts and I'll see what I can do?"_

I glared at him, "_And just who do you think you are anyway? Where am I?_"

"_My name is Tumi,"_ he answered as he nodded back to the humans behind him, "_They are Alfred and Arthur, and this is their house. Alfred found you hurt the other day and brought you back here. They called me to fix you up and make sure you're okay."_

Saved? By a human? I glanced over at Alfred, who was staring back, nervous and twitchy looking all over, as if he actually cared about my wellbeing. Well, Tumi seemed like a trustworthy human at any rate; it wouldn't hurt to do what he suggests.

I stood and stretched, testing to see if anything was still in pain, "_Everything is in working order."_

_"That's good_," he sighed and reached out a hand to a few inches by my face, _"You were pretty close there for a bit, so I was worried. Do you mind?"_

I sniffed his hand, it smelled like fish and berries, "_I suppose if you must._"

Tumi wasted no time in petting my head, my stomach, my back, probably checking to see if anything was wrong. It felt nice, so I didn't mind letting him.

"So what's the diagnosis Doc?" one of the other humans, Alfred, asked.

"He's better," Tumi answered, hand still petting me, and I wished he'd focus on that instead, "Not perfect, he'll have to stay here for a few days, but he'll heal."

"How long is 'a few days?'" the other human, Arthur, asked, "As soon as he can fend for himself, I want him out of my house."

"What? Arthur c'mon," Alfred whined. I lowered myself back into the cocoon of blankets, "We can't just kick him out, what if he gets picked on again?"

"Then he'll have to fend for himself. We can't just pick a cat up off the streets, what if he's diseased?"

I growled, and would have launched at him if I had been in any condition to do so. Me? Diseased? While he suffered from god knows what in that human body of his?

Tumi cleared things up to them for me, "He's not diseased. I checked him for that while I was healing him."

"We're not getting a cat and that's final!"

"C'mon Arthur," Alfred knelt down besides Tumi and smiled in my general direction, "He's too cute! We can't just kick him out! Plus he has your eyebrows."

"How is that a deciding factor in anything?" Arthur shouted as I sank a claw into the boy's ankle to teach him a lesson. Yes, my black spots stood out a little, but there were nothing like the monsters on that human's face.

Alfred winced as he pulled his leg back, rubbing the scratch as he said, "But Arthur, he needs us. Please?"

Arthur looked like he was having an internal struggle. Eventually he sighed and asked, "Tumi, what does the cat want?"

"_Do you want to stay here with them for a while," _he asked, "_or just until you've recovered?_"

I seriously thought it over. Alfred was practically bursting with excitement and energy as he reached out a hand to touch me (I batted it away. A bit rude of him really). Arthur, a bit further back, was trying to appear nonchalant, but I could tell he was impatient for my answer.

And, they had saved me. They had brought a strange cat into their home, found Tumi who could actually speak Cat to see if I was alright… perhaps, maybe, these humans weren't as bad as all the others. Besides, if they did turn out to be horrible bastards, I could always run away. Either way, the rest and food I was being promised was too good to pass up.

"_I, suppose I could stay here for a little while._"

Tumi relayed my message. I saw a small smile creep onto Arthur face, and Alfred, eager little git, sprung forward to pick me up and hug me close against his chest. Tumi and Arthur both yelled at him for this, saying that I was still hurt and that I needed rest, which I did, and I was grateful to them, but I had the strangest reaction to his behavior. I purred.

Yes, maybe staying here won't be so bad.


	18. Tropical Vacation

**This chapter was for the Day 27 prompt: Topical Vacation.  
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**Enjoy.**

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><p>Elizaveta came home from food shopping that day full of excitement and only about half the grocery list.<p>

"You'll never guess what I won while out shopping today!" she grinned and continued before anyone could answer, "A free vacation to the tropical island of Seychelles! All expenses paid and everything!"

"If you wanted to take a vacation with Roderich, you could have just asked and I would have paid for it," Arthur commented as he sipped his tea.

Both his maid and butler blushed, "W-what are you talking about, Arthur? Besides, the trip is for four people, pets too, so we can bring Iggy along too."

Igaraptor, Iggy for short, both names Alfred's idea, was lying on the kitchen table, content on having his ears scratched by Alfred, who was looking excited about the trip.

"A vacation sounds awesome! And a tropical vacation sounds even better! How long will it take to drive to Seychelles?"

"Geography lessons," Roderich sighed as he turned to the next page in his paper, "When we get back, a cram session in geography."

"Yeah fine whatever," he waved him off, "When are we leaving?"

"Three days," Elizaveta beamed at them until she spotted the look on Arthur's face, "That is, unless Arthur has another idea?"

Arthur blinked as if he had just lost a thought and smiled at her, "Oh, no, I was just thinking. I'm sure we could all use a vacation, and there's no better price then free."

"Excellent!" she clapped in excitement, "Then you boys better start packing, because we're on our way to Seychelles!"

* * *

><p>They got off the private jet that was sent for them (and Arthur complained the whole time about how his jet was of a higher quality) and where met by a young girl around Alfred's age.<p>

"Hello," she smiled, "My name's Angelique, and I'm going to be your guide for the remainder of your time on our island."

"We're not tipping you," Arthur grumbled as he got off the plane, "if that's what you're after. All expenses paid means all expenses paid."

Angelique frowned and stuck her tongue out at him, "Well I wouldn't want your money anyway Eyebrows."

"E-eyebrows? I'll have you know these eyebrows are a Kirkland tradition! Many inferior men have trembled before the might of-"

"They're huge, and you're lame," she cut him off and turned to Elizaveta with a smile, "you must be Ms. Hedervary, our contest winner right?"

"Yes!" Elizaveta nodded, "and these are my three guests, and a cat."

"Perfect," Angelique clapped her hands together, "Why don't I show you to your hotel rooms so you can get settled in before we tour the island?" she led them over to an idling car while Alfred and Roderich grabbed the bags to load them in. Arthur muttered expletives under his breath as Elizaveta followed him into the backseat of the car. Angelique sat in the passenger's front seat and when they were done, Alfred and Roderich joined their friends in the back.

"Oh, right," Angelique turned to face them, her brightest smile yet plastered on her face, "Welcome to Seychelles. I hope you enjoy your stay."

* * *

><p>"This room is too small," Arthur scoffed as he paced around the suite he was sharing with Alfred, "It's too hot while simultaneously being too cold, the beds are hard, the television only gets 100 channels, you have to pay extra for the video games-"<p>

"You don't even like video games," Alfred commented from his spot on the bed, controller in hand, eyes glued to the screen, "And all expenses are paid anyway so-"

"And our tour guide!" he snapped, ignoring Alfred's comments, "What's with her attitude anyway?"

"Dude, you came out right off the bat and said you wouldn't tip her," he shrugged, still focused on his game, "I can understand if she's a little upset at you for that."

"I don't see why," he crossed his arms and stopped his pacing to glare at Alfred, who didn't react, too focused on his game, "This is a free vacation. I shouldn't have to pay her anything."

"She's doing you a service, you should tip people for services," Alfred rolled his eyes, "Besides, it's not like you don't have more money then you know what to do with."

"Exactly! It's mine! She can earn her own!"

"She _is _earning her own," he paused the game to glare at Arthur, "She's not tour guiding for free and I'm sure tips are a big part of her income. It's not like you actually _earned_ your fortune anyway."

Arthur froze, gaze steadily turning into a glare, "What do you mean by that Alfred?"

"I'm just saying you inherited it is all. You should talk down on people just because they actually have to earn money for a living."

"I'll have you know, I _did_ rightfully earn my fortune. _Someone_ has to keep it replenished for when _someone else_ goes on spending sprees."

"Yeah, because being born is such a feat," Alfred rolled his eyes, "and I wouldn't call investing actual work. Face it Arthur, you're pretty spoiled."

"Not _nearly_ as spoiled as you!" he balled his hands into fists and stomped his foot on the ground, "You didn't have to live with my parents for 10 years! You didn't have to have a decade of 'this is how a _proper_ Kirkland acts' shoved down your throat day in and day out. You didn't have to be torn between the sheer joy of finally having them out of your life for good and being absolutely terrified of being all alone, and _you_, my dear Alfred, didn't have to deal with all the accusations, the criticism that came afterwards! So _excuse me_ if I come off as a bit spoiled, or if it doesn't seem like I earned the right to spend _my money_ however I please!"

Alfred balked, "Th-that's still no reason to be rude to Angelique!"

"Fine, if that's the way you feel, why don't you spend your vacation time with _her_ instead?" Arthur stormed over to the door and threw it open, "I didn't even want to come here anyway!" before he slammed it shut.

"W-well fine!" Alfred shouted after him as he picked up his controller and turned back to his game, "If you're going to be that way, maybe I will!"

And he set about ignoring that horrible feeling in the pit of his stomach.

* * *

><p>Alfred did as Arthur suggested and spent the whole of the next day with Angelique. She was eager to show him around her island, the best places to fish, her favorite spots, and it was nice. It was great even, but he couldn't help like feel that something was missing.<p>

Of course something was missing. Arthur was missing. Alfred was starting to think that maybe he was too accusatory to him. Yeah, he shouldn't have been so judgmental and stingy towards Angelique, Alfred was still in the right on that, but he really didn't have to say that other stuff, considering Alfred _really _didn't have to work to get to enjoy Arthur's fortune, just show up to school class every day, some of which Arthur himself taught. It wasn't that big a sacrifice, and Alfred _was_ grateful for everything Arthur had done for him. The more he thought about it, the more he regretted snapping at him.

However when he went back to their hotel room, Arthur still hadn't returned. That was alright, he probably just needed to blow of some steam; Alfred was content to wait for him to return.

The sun hitting his eyes woke him up the next morning. Alfred had a crick in his neck from sleeping in the armchair, waiting for Arthur to come home. A quick glance around the suite showed that Arthur's bed, the mini-bar, and their complementary room-service breakfast basket was untouched, and Iggy was curled in his lap, fast asleep. He subconsciously started stroking him as his concern turned into worry that turned into panic.

Where was Arthur? Had he come back last night at all? Was he staying in Elizaveta and Roderich's room despite the fact that there had been a 'Do Not Disturb' sign on their door since they got there? What if he was lost? What if something had happened to him? What if _something happened to him_, it would be all Alfred's fault because he said those things to him and drove him away and-

Alfred stood up, knocking Iggy to the floor with a hiss. He grabbed a bagel from the breakfast basket and ran out the door, not even bothering to change from his grimy clothes from yesterday.

He had a guardian to find.

* * *

><p>"Alfred!" Angelique stood up as he left his room. From the looks of things, she had been waiting out there for a while, "It's almost eleven. Ms. Hedervary and Mr. Edelstein have already left on their own so if Mr. Kirkland isn't joining us, it's just you and me again today."<p>

"Arthur's missing," he said, catching her eyes and holding them, "Can you help me look for him?"

"Oh, uh," she looked around nervously before her gaze caught Alfred's eyes, "Yes, sure, I'll help you find him. W-where do you think we should start?"

"Oh, well," in all his urgency to find Arthur, he'd never actually given any thought as to where to look, "How about some place where he could be alone to think? Since he was angry, that's probably where he went."

"Ah, okay," she perked up and started leading him out of the hotel, "I know several places like that."

Angelique led him to most of the same spots she showed him yesterday, but there wasn't a trace of Arthur anywhere. No one had seen him since yesterday. They checked pubs and bars next with similar results, much to Alfred's disappointment, general frustration, and paranoia.

"What if he drowned?" he asked as they left the latest in a line of drinking establishments, "He can't swim; what if he fell in the ocean and drowned and now he dead and it's all my fault?"

"I'm, I'm sure he's already," Angelique placed a comforting hand on his shoulder and smiled, "Why don't we take a break and look for him later? He might even be back at the hotel now, wondering where you are."

"We can't just give up!" he stared at her with an almost manic look in his eyes, "This is _Arthur_ we're talking about!"

"Yeah, I know," she crossed her arms and pouted, "And he's not a very nice guy anyway, so-"

"But he _is_. He just doesn't like leaving his house, so he can be a bit hard to deal with, but he's…" Alfred buried his head in his hands, "He's given me…everything. And I don't thank him enough."

Angelique bit her lip and squeezed his shoulder tight, "I-I'm sure he's, fine, wherever he is."

"But we don't know that, not for certain. And if anything happens to him, and I can't protect him…I'm supposed to _protect_ people and I can't even save _him_-"

"Alfred?" a new voice asked. Alfred lowered his hands and saw that Francis had just left the bar they were currently standing outside of, "I thought I heard you shouting. Is everything alright?"

"Francis!" Alfred clung to his shirt like a life preserver, "Francis, Arthur is missing! He stormed out yesterday and I haven't seen him since then and _nobody_'s seen him since yesterday and he can't swim and-"

"Calm down, Alfred," Francis grabbed his shoulder and led him to the wall to lean against, "Tell me what happened."

So he did. He told him about how Arthur didn't want to go at first, but Alfred had insisted they all go together, about their fight, although he skimped on the details of what exactly was said, about how Arthur had stormed out and their search so far. As he got further into his narrative, Alfred felt the guilt build up. Angelique, meanwhile, seemed to grow nervous and twitchy.

"I see," pondered Francis after Alfred had finished, "I'd say he's just wandered off and is having trouble finding his way back, unless," he turned to look at Angelique, who squealed and backed up against the wall, "Someone knows more about his location then she is letting on?"

Angelique gasped and threw her hands up in defense, "W-what are you talking about? I h-have no idea what could have happened to Mr. K-Kirkland!"

"_Ma cheri_," his smile was kind, but his eyes told a different story, "It's alright. We're not going to blame you. Please just tell us all you know."

Alfred glanced between the two of them, confusion written on his face, as Angelique broke down into little hiccupping sobs, "I-I'm sorry. It's just h-he's a Super a-and they said they j-just wanted to keep the island s-safe and they said th-they wouldn't hurt him and-"

"Arthur's not a Super," Alfred's glare turned hard as he punched the nearby wall, creating a sizeable dent. The splinters and cracks spread from the epicenter as the vibrations started to settle, "I am."

Angelique went white as a sheet as she slowly covered her mouth and backed away. Alfred removed his fist from the wall, scattering the dust everywhere as he stomped towards her. Francis held out an arm to stop him.

"Calm down Alfred," he said, and Alfred could smell something soothing and citrusy coming off of him, "Can't you see she's terrified? She's our only clue to finding him, so let her explain."

Alfred closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths, inhaling Francis's citrus scent, before he nodded and backed off a few steps.

"Thank you, now," he smiled at Angelique again, who seemed frozen to the spot, "Please tell us all you know about who took our Arthur?"

She too took a deep breath before launching into her story. Apparently some men, she didn't know who they were, had told her about Arthur Kirkland, a powerful and dangerous Super who was coming to the island with some people. Since he was invited as part of a contest package, they couldn't turn him away, but if Angelique was able to keep the others busy and didn't ask too many questions, they could take care of him for the safety of the whole island. She would be well paid, of course, but as a result, she had no idea where they took Arthur, what they actually needed him for, or what they were doing to him.

"So call them and find out where he is!" Alfred barked once her story was finished.

"They're the ones who contact me!" she snapped back, "Not the other way around!"

"And you don't have any idea who they are at all? Their names, what they looked like, anything?"

Angelique thought about it for a moment, "They said they were with the Bureau, so I didn't ask them too many questions. There were three of them, Asian, one was a head shorter than the other two, one had glasses, one had a weird curl, they all had dark hair… " She shook her head, "That's all I remember."

"That's good enough," Francis squeezed her shoulder lightly as he smiled at her, "Thank you for helping us. Please, go home and lie down. You look like you need it."

She nodded in agreement before saying her farewells and taking her leave.

"So, now what?" Alfred asked, "We still don't know who they are or where they took him or-"

"Patience, Alfred," Francis pulled out a blackberry and started typing something into it, "I know exactly who they are, and we can find where they took him quite easily. So to answer your question," he looked up at him, mischievous grin clear on his face, "Now we find Arthur."


	19. Love

**This chapter was for the Day 28 prompt: Love. This ends the Summer Camp prompts, but there will be one more chapter after this.  
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**Enjoy.**

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><p>"Poor Mr. Kirkland," the voice smirked as its owner circled around him, "I know you've been through a lot. Belittled by your parents, ostracized by your peers, but I wonder if you're <em>aware<em> of the consequences of your actions. Taking in a Super is one thing – and no, no one actually _believes_ he's your brother, although your money does a very good job of shutting them up – but this? This Super Reform Bill you and Mayor Bonnefoy are so keen on passing," a pile of documents were tossed down on the table in front of him, "This is going too far, even for you."

"You're one to talk about my actions," Arthur sneered, "I know what kind of business you run. You've been playing the system like a violin for years, profiting from the oppression of others. All the while watching, waiting for your chance to rise to the top, but it doesn't work like that does it, Yao?"

Yao Wang, CEO of Wang Industries, one of the most profitable businesses in the world, stopped his circling across the table from him and glared, "My actions don't put people in danger, Mr. Kirkland."

"Yes, I forgot. Kidnapping and threatening someone in no way puts them in harm's way."

One of Yao's men standing behind Arthur smacked him on the back of the head, "Cheeky as always, Mr. Kirkland," Yao smirked.

"What do you want from me Yao?" Arthur glares, "Holding me hostage isn't going to help you in any way."

"I want to things from you," he pulls a Polaroid picture out of his breast pocket and slides it across the table to Arthur, "The boy in this picture. You know who he is yes?"

The picture was of Alfred during one of his nighttime escapades. He was wearing his mask, so his identity wasn't obvious to anyone who hadn't seen him wearing it every night for the past few years. Arthur kept his face blank as he answered, "I have no idea who this is. He's wearing a mask."

"You take me for a fool, Mr. Kirkland? Super-strength may be one of the most popular powers among Supers, but there are only 5 registered Supers with that power in the correct age range, and after doing some checking, Alfred Kirkland is the only one it could possibly be."

"That's your mistake right there. You're assuming he's registered."

A snicker sounded behind him, but Yao silenced it with a glare before returning focus to Arthur, "Love can cause us to make some bad choices, Mr. Kirkland. I have no doubt in my mind that that boy is Alfred Kirkland, and I would like you to confess as much."

Arthur raised an eyebrow, completely nonplussed, "And what makes you think I'm going to do that?"

Yao smirked, "The second thing I want from you, Mr. Kirkland, is a Dragon."

Arthur's eyes went wide, "How do you even know about that?"

"Most of the scientific community may find his research outdated and irrelevant, but I find Vlad's work to be enlightening," the smug look on his face grew under Arthur's glare, "I refuse to let you leave here without giving me either the boy or a Dragon. I'll give you a while to think it over." He snapped his fingers, summoning the two men behind him as they left Arthur alone in that dark room, mulling over his thoughts.

* * *

><p>"How's this supposed to work?" Alfred was skeptical as Francis coaxed Iggy away from the dead mouse just outside of the hotel.<p>

"It's simply, your cat is a genius, at least Tumi said as much yes?"

"Yeah, but how did you know that?"

Francis waved a finger at him, "Of course, Tumi is a Freedom Fighter. Our organization is gaining momentum you know. The point is, he'll be able to track Arthur, who he lives with and can identify his smell."

"He's a cat, not a dog."

"Cats have a most impeccable sense of smell as well, you know," he held out his hand and Iggy cautiously stepped towards it, "Normally they don't lower themselves to a task a dog could do, but perhaps Iggy will make an exception for us. How about it," Francis gently stroked Iggy's head, "Would you be willing to sniff out Arthur for us?"

Iggy flicked his tail in annoyance but continued to allow Francis to pet him, "Is that a yes?" Alfred asked.

"I believe so. Now I can mimic Arthur's scent for him if I know what he smells like."

"Okay, well, that's good."

"So, what does he smell like?"

Alfred felt his face heat up, "How should I know that?"

"You've been living with him for what, five years? You're the closest he's ever been to another human being. If you don't know what he smells like, I doubt anyone does."

"But Iggy's a cat! He probably smells different to him then he does to me."

"My power would be able to combine what you smell and mimic it in a way that reflects what Arthur would actually smell like; I just need a place to start. Iggy probably smells the same things you do, even if he interprets them differently," Francis sighed, focus still on petting Iggy, "Just close your eyes and concentrate, please."

Alfred grumbled under his breath, but did as Francis instructed. He thought back, remembered Arthur, everything about him, Arthur sitting in the living room, reading a book during his afternoon tea, "Tea," Alfred supplied, "Earl Grey tea,"

Arthur in his study, pouring over documents, an exhausted look on his face before he noticed Alfred standing there and called him over with a small, "and paper and ink,"

Arthur and him in the garden, catering to the roses, until he pricks his finger on a thorn and Arthur pulls out a band-aid, wrapping it around the cut and planting a kiss on top, "and roses,"

Arthur and him lying in the grass, staring at the stars as Arthur excitedly tells him the story behind each one, "and grass, and dew,"

Arthur in the kitchen with Elizaveta, trying to make something that he calls scones, and he eats them, and says their delicious, just to see Arthur's face light up, "and burnt flour,"

Arthur waiting for him to come home every night, ready with a first aid kit and a hug when necessary, "and…home."

"Okay, that should do it," Alfred opened his eyes to see Iggy sniffing Francis's hand. When he was done, he sniffed the air and ran off down the street, "I think he's got it."

"Then let's go!" Alfred took off running after him, Francis trailing somewhere behind, ignoring that feeling in the pit of his stomach.

* * *

><p>"Have you come to a decision Mr. Kirkland?"<p>

"You think I'm thick or something?" Arthur tapped the picture with his finger, "You know you need a Super to make a Dragon, and I know you well Yao, you'd never have a Super anywhere in your organization. I wonder where you plan on getting the Super from."

"Kiet here has recently revealed to me that can turn into an elephant," Yao's guard wearing glasses nodded, "He has agreed to undergo the procedure if we found someone who was willing to perform it."

Arthur drummed his fingers on the tabletop, mulling everything over in his mind. It was common knowledge that Yao Wang despised Supers. Whether it was out of jealousy or pure loathing was still subject to debate amongst their peers, but one thing was certain: he couldn't stand them. Yao having a Super in his personal guard set off all sorts of red flags in Arthur's head. But his options at this point seemed to be to turn Alfred over to Yao, try and turn a regular person into a Dragon, or be at Yao's mercy for however long his patience lasts.

"I don't trust you Yao; I don't trust you at all. However I am willing to turn Kiet into a Dragon for you, if you let me go."

Yao's smirk sent shivers down his spine, "That's all I ask of you, Mr. Kirkland."

* * *

><p>Iggy had led them to a Bureau building on the other side of the island. Francis was able to somehow convince the guard to let them in and tell them where Arthur was taken. Apparently Francis, who had been following a man named Yao and his group in Seychelles, had some connections ("Not spies," he had insisted, "Connections. There's a difference,") on the inside.<p>

Arthur was apparently in the basement. Alfred was all for rushing in there and saving him, but Francis convinced him to hold back, check the situation, and get a plan of action ready before they charged in. Alfred found himself standing guard for Francis, who was kneeling in front of a small window right above the basement.

"See? Look," Alfred kneeled as well to see that Francis was pointing at devices and several things he recognized as magical artifacts laid out on a table.

"What are they for?"

Francis considered it for a moment, "If I know the theory right, they may be attempting to create a Dragon."

"A what now?"

"A Dragon. I am correct in assuming you have met Arthur's friend Vlad and know of his research, correct?" Alfred nodded, "A few months ago he accidentally stumbled on a theory about how to increase the power of a Super to its maximum potential. For example, your power is above average strength. Right now you can lift what, about 4 tons?"

"_5 _tons, for your information."

"The more you grow and train, the stronger you get. The parameters of your power, however, are 'above average strength.' In theory, you strength should lie anywhere in the realm above average, even going on to infinity."

"Yeah, in English please."

"Because you are a Super, in time, you will be able to lift anything, even the earth or the universe, if you needed to."

"O-oh, really?" Alfred felt a grin spread across his face.

"Yes, through time and training and growing, your strength factor could be able to reach infinity. But our friend Vlad's theory can make it so you can reach that infinite level instantly."

"Really?" the smile grew even more.

"Yes, but at a cost."

"I'm sure whatever risks wouldn't compare to the reward…"

"I beg to differ," Francis's face grew dark as he stared at the materials on the table, "According to Vlad, outside of the excruciating pain one would go through putting themselves through this process, it will cause the Super's brain to quite literally break, the result being a complete loss of free will. That is a Dragon, a Super with ultimate power who will obey any master."

"Ah, well, never mind then," Alfred glanced down into the basement as well, "So, what's this Yao guy want with a Dragon if he hates Supers?"

"Don't you get it? If he has one, or even several, Dragons under his control, he won't need to worry about Supers anymore. It would be like Matthew's situation, if Matthew was all powerful and couldn't even feel upset about it."

"And he needs Arthur because?"

"Vlad and Arthur's friendship is not exactly a secret. Vlad has most likely told him everything he needs to know about his theory to execute it flawlessly, and Arthur would be easier to… convince, to do this."

"What? No way!" Alfred defended, "Arthur would never consent to something like that! No matter what?"

"I'm not so sure. Yao would be able to find a way to coerce him," Francis looked pointedly at Alfred, "Besides, he was one glaringly obvious weak point."

"Eh?" Alfred blinked, confused, "What's that?"

"It matters not; I'm sure you'll find out in the end," he stood up and started towards the door, "Shall we go save you guardian now?"

Alfred grinned and followed after him, "About time!"

* * *

><p>"There, everything is set up," Arthur noted as he glanced around the basement, "You just need to bring Kiet in here and we can get this over with."<p>

"Yes, about that," Yao's grin was practically devious, "There's been a change of plan."

A ball of tension settled itself at the pit of Arthur's stomach; he was afraid this would happen, "What?"

"Kiet has decided not to go through with this, but don't worry, I've found another Super we can use," he snapped his fingers. His two guards burst into the room, Kiet holding a struggling Francis, and the other one, Yong Soo if he remembered correctly, carrying an unconscious Alfred.

"Alfred!" he shouted and tried to run to him, but Yao shoved him back, hitting the table, "Alfred! Wake up you idiot!"

"Alfred is a Super. You can make him my Dragon in exchange for your freedom."

"No!" Arthur spat at Yao, "The deal's off! I refuse."

"If you refuse me my Dragon, does it mean that you're willing to admit that this boy, your _Alfred_," he gestured to his unconscious form, "Is the hooligan wreaking terror upon the city, thereby placing him officially under my arrest?"

"No," Arthur stood with a wince, the blow caused by him hitting the table had bruised some ribs, "No, he isn't."

"Those were your two options Mr. Kirkland: make me a Dragon or admit Alfred's wrong doings."

"Well I refuse to do either," he clutched his side, "and since you need me alive for both, you're going to have to live with it."

"I can hurt you without touching you," another snap and Yong Soo had deposited Alfred in the nearby chair, his head lolling forward in sleep. Arthur grit his teeth as Francis renewed his struggles, but Kiet's grip was strong. Yao strode over to the table and picked up a scalpel, "I've read Vlad's theory enough times. Yes, you would be less likely to botch the process, but I will probably be able to do it with Alfred, for the most part, intact."

"If you lay one finger on him…" Arthur growled, eyes threatening horrible, unspeakable things.

"I dare you to try," Yao raised the scalpel to Alfred's hairline, and then several things happened at once.

Arthur launched himself at Yao, tackling him to the ground and banging his wrist against it to disarm him. Kiet gagged and covered his mouth and nose with his hands, releasing Francis, who wasted no time in getting to Alfred, but Yong Soo beat him there, driving a syringe in to his shoulder.

Suddenly, Alfred woke up. He blinked as he got a feel for the situation he was in, "What the… Arthur? Arthur!" his eyes widened as he took in the fight.

Yao had gotten the upper hand, throwing Arthur against the table, cracking a few more ribs, and grabbed a jar off the table. Arthur reached for the same jar and a struggle took place before it was smashed against the floor, emitting a red fog that choked the two of them.

"Arthur!" Alfred shouted as he and Yong Soo raced into the fog despite Francis's protests. It was thick, but he managed to find Arthur, slumped over unconscious on the floor, and grabbed him before running out of the fog.

"Francis! He's not breathing!" Alfred called out as he carefully laid him back on the floor, "What do we do, what do we do?"

By now Yong Soo had emerged with Yao and Kiet rushed over to help him. Francis looked over Arthur, checking his pulse and breathing, "He is breathing, it's just very shallow," he concluded as he stuck a finger under his nose."

Slowly, Arthur blinked his eyes open and took gasps of air as his breathing returned to normal, "Good god, what is that smell?"

"It's probably best if you don't know," Arthur coughed as Alfred helped him stand up, "Alfred, I think it best if we take our leave now."

"Yeah, one second," he let Arthur lean on Francis for support before he walked over to where Yong Soo had Yao sitting against the wall, "Hey," he started to get his attention.

Yong Soo looked up and smiled at him, "Hey, glad to see your okay!"

"Yeah, you too, I think," he rubbed his shoulder where he could still feel the bite of the syringe, "You're the one who woke me up right?"

"Yeah, I figured it was the least I could do since I knocked you out," he snickered, "Yao's orders, sorry about that."

"You seem like a nice guy. Why are you working for Yao?"

He shrugged and turned his attention back to Yao, "He saved me when I was young. He practically raised me, you know? I can't just turn my back on him."

"Yeah," Alfred glanced back at Arthur, who was lightly beating at Francis's chest, "I know the feeling."

"Although both of us can admit," he looked at Kiet who nodded in return, "Lately, Yao's thinking has been getting a little, out there. Sorry you had to go through all this."

"Yeah, well, maybe you could help him reign in his hate a little?"

"I've been trying to do that since I met him, daze," he laughed, "but I'll see what I can do. Maybe after this failure he'll look at things in a whole new light."

"We can hope, I guess," he offered his hand to Yong Soo, who eagerly shook it, "I'll see you around, or uh, I guess not, if I'm being honest."

Yong Soo laughed, "That's alright. Best of luck to all of you."

"You too," Alfred smiled and returned to his friends.

"Alfred," Francis asked as he approached, "Would you care to find us a way out?"

"No problem," he flashed him a thumbs up and went to kick in the door that led out of the basement. Francis thanked him and handed over Arthur, who was still a bit unsteady on his legs, forcing Alfred to carry him out of the building and back to the hotel.

* * *

><p>"I'm sorry Arthur," Alfred apologized for what must have been the umpteenth time after Arthur had woken up the next day. As soon as they were back at the hotel and Alfred had treated his various injuries, he had passed out on his bed from exhaustion.<p>

"It's quite alright Alfred," Arthur sipped his tea, "I forgive you for the fight, and the rest of it wasn't even your fault."

Alfred grumbled, but didn't protest out loud. It had been obvious for a while, but he loved Arthur; he was his brother, his savior, his everything. He'd do anything to keep Arthur safe, and now he realized, for the first time, Arthur felt the same about him. This thought should have made him feel giddy, but instead it just made that horrible tension in the pit of his stomach even worse. What if more people used Alfred to get to Arthur like Yao had, or vice versa? Alfred couldn't let his heroing hurt Arthur anymore than it already had.

Iggy jumped into his lap, and he subconsciously pet him as he came to a decision, "Arthur…"

"Yes?" Arthur looked at him over his paper, "What is it?"

Alfred took a breath to steel himself and looked Arthur right in the eye, "I've decided to take Francis up on his offer. I'm going to New York."


	20. Forever

So does anyone remember this? Very sorry this took so long, but I'm a horrible procrastinator especially when it comes to actually finishing things, but look! It's done now. See final chapter unless I want to write other side stories in this universe, but for now look! Final chapter! Hooray!

**Characters: **England, Hungary/Austria (if you squint), Romania(Vlad)/Bulgaria(Grigor), America

Enjoy.

* * *

><p>"Arthur?" he heard Elizaveta open the door and promptly pulled the covers over his head and rolled away, "Arthur, this is getting ridiculous. It's been eight months since Alfred left and you've barely left your room in that time."<p>

"I don't need to leave my room to have a fulfilling life," he curled further into his bed, "I am perfectly content to just stay here for the rest of forever."

Elizaveta threw the curtains open, letting the sunshine fill the room and causing Arthur to burrow further into his nest of blankets. She stormed over to her employer's bed and yanked all the covers off in one fell swoop, leaving him startled, cold in nothing but his pajamas, and a bit put out.

"What the hell was that for?" he barked at her, the accompanying glare not phasing her in the slightest.

"You're being melodramatic and everyone is sick of it," she crossed her arms and tapped her foot impatiently on the ground, "It's time for you to get out of bed and face the rest of your life. It's not like Alfred died, he simply moved out. It was bound to happen eventually."

"I don't see why," he threw an arm over his eyes and refused to move, "I don't see why he had to leave."

"Need I remind you you're the one who let him go?" she silence her foot and raised an eyebrow, "If you really didn't want him to leave, why didn't you tell him to stay? If you asked him to, I'm sure he would have."

"Come off it. You know as well as I that manipulating his emotions and forcing him into staying is no better than the Bureau forcing him wherever. If I didn't let him go he would have eventually come to resent me and left on his own anyway."

"Exactly. So since you _let him leave_ and your relationship with him still, you know, _exists_," she grabbed his arm and forcefully pulled him out of bed with a yelp, dragging him to and tossing him in his wardrobe, "it's time for you to get out of bed and live the rest of your life!"

"It's been eight months!" Arthur shouted through the wood, "Eight months and I haven't received one letter, one phone call, one email or text! Eight months and I haven't heard from him!" he sighed and collapsed to the floor of the wardrobe with a thud, "Even though I let him go on his own terms, he hates me…"

This was true. After Alfred left with Antonio for New York City to set up a branch of the Freedom Fighters there, he promised to call or email Arthur at least once a day, and for about a month he did. The call on that first night had lasted for five hours, but as the month wore on the calls got shorter – their last call being a mere five minutes long – and the emails shrank to barely a sentence before they too ceased. That's when Arthur locked himself in his room, refusing to leave except for meals, eventually even having those brought up to him.

Despite that, Elizaveta knew that she and Roderich had given Arthur enough of a mourning period. She kicked the side of the wardrobe, Arthur giving out a small squeak when she did, and shouted, "Even so, you need to get over yourself. That Bastard Bat Whore of a friend of yours is here with his new boy toy, and if you you're not downstairs fully presentable in the next thirty minutes, I'm not going to be responsible for what happens to him."

With that she left, fully intending to follow through on her threat.

Ten minutes later, Arthur appeared in the kitchen wearing a pair of wrinkled slacks and a stained sweater vest. Roderich, Vlad, and a new face in Kirkland Manor were sitting around the table, with Elizaveta nowhere to be seen.

"Ah but Roderich, you are indeed quite charming," Vlad was saying as he sipped his tea, "You could have any girl – or guy, I suppose – that you want. Why you put up with that horrible slut of diseased female dog's anal regions I'll never know."

"Some of us don't glare daggers and insult her as soon as we enter the room," Roderich explained.

"Hm," Vlad considered this point, "Well, she started it."

"It was simultaneous from my point of view," the new guy shrugged.

"I thought you were on my side," Vlad whined and put his head on his shoulder.

"I am when you're right," he lifted a hand and started gently stroking his head, "You simply aren't in this situation."

"You can be so mean to me," he sighed into the man's neck. Arthur felt a pang of loneliness shoot through him and considered turning around and heading back upstairs to his room for the rest of his life, but Vlad had already spotted him, "Ah, Arthur my friend! I have not seen you since forever! Come meet my new special friend Grigor."

"Ah, well, it's nice to meet you I suppose," Arthur greeted offhandedly.

"Likewise," Grigor nodded.

"Oh but where is my friend Alfred?" Vlad glanced around the kitchen as if he would burst out from behind the corner at any moment, "I have not seen him either and I was hoping we could – ow! Roderich! Kicking my leg with such force is not very polite!"

Rodreich rolled his eyes as Arthur clutched his hands together, "He's, not here anymore. He moved to New York a few months ago."

"Oh, I see," Vlad pondered this thought for a few moments as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a letter, "That explains why he sent you this from New York. See I thought it was a bit strange…"

"What?" Arthur blinked and stormed over, snatching the letter from his hands and opening it, opting to block out the rest of his friend's banter and read it instead.

He held the paper in trembling hands and read:

_Dear Arthur,_

_Sorry about the months of silence before this letter. I've been really busy with the Freedom Fighters, is what I want to say, and while that's true, it's not the main reason for cutting off contact with you for so long. I wish it was, because the real reason is not as simple, it's not as good, and it's not as forgivable, but please bear with me and don't burn the letter and disown me until after you finish._

_For the most part, Antonio has me doing my usual work at night and going to a normal public school during the day, keeping up the pretense that I'm a normal, average teenager. There are other Supers in school, and while the other kids constantly tease and bully them (I try to stop this when I can as non-Supery as possible), they're still considered the lucky ones, because they're actually allowed to get an education. The Guardian System is far more broken here then it is at home, leaving all Supers, both minors and adults, vulnerable. _

_Antonio's been working hard on the legislative side of things while I've had to deal with the actual effects of the current system, and seeing all these Supers and how they're treated by the people who are suppose to be protecting them, it just makes me angry. I don't really like angry me, and I don't like some of the things I've done when I'm that angry. Don't worry, I haven't killed anyone, and I'm getting better at controlling myself, but one of the reasons I've been so silent with you for so long is because I've been too ashamed. You taught me better than that and I didn't know how to face you._

_The other reason is because I am thankful. I know, two completely polar opposite reasons to stop talking to you, and shouldn't me being thankful give me more of a reason to talk to you? Well, it's been a bit tricky to put my emotions into words._

_The Guardian System is broken, not only because it leaves the Supers vulnerable, but because they're only vulnerable due to the stress it puts on the Guardian. They are left with the complete burden of anything their Super does wrong; even minor violations get maximum punishments. That's why most Guardians drop their Super as soon as they step out of line, leaving them at the mercy of the Bureau, and here in New York, that's not a pleasant fate. But you never dropped me. I know, despite the fact they could never prove anything, they still charged you for my vigilante stuff, don't try to deny it, I saw the bills, but even so you never cut me off or forced me out on my own. _

_I've seen what's happened to Supers who were suddenly dropped by their Guardians, because of some stupid accident that they got blamed for or because the Guardian took a lot of heat for taking in a Super and changed their mind, and it's not pretty. If the Bureau doesn't get their hands on you, then you're running from them on your own, day and night, never resting. Most go mad after a while, if they can't find a new Guardian, and what some of the desperate ones do for Guardians…it's not pretty._

_Thank you Arthur. I'm still not sure what was going through your mind when you decide to take pity on an orphaned Super being picked on that night, and perhaps I never will, but I'm thankful for it. Antonio says it was fate or destiny that crossed our paths, but I think I just got lucky. I got lucky and I found you, and through that same luck you found me. _

_I'm sorry Arthur, both about not writing for so long and for everything. Don't worry though; I'm working extra hard now to be your hero again, a hero you can be proud of._

_I'll see you soon._

_Love,_

_Alfred Kirkland_

Arthur read the letter several more times, not trying to hide the tears in his eyes even though he knew the others were staring. Alfred didn't hate him, Alfred was okay, struggling a bit it seemed, but okay, and how could he ever possibly disappoint Arthur?

But there was one thing, "What does he mean by 'I'll see you soon?'" he looked up to see the three faces grinning at him.

"Arthur my friend," Vlad nodded at something behind him, "I believe this is the part where you turn around."

Confused, Arthur did as was suggested and came face to face with Alfred, standing in the doorway, a sheepish grin on his face. He had grown since Arthur last saw him; he was now taller than him and had a pair of glasses perched on his face.

Alfred fidgeted, smile still plastered on his face as he waved, "Hi Arthur."

"You," he takes a tentative step forward, "You daft idiot!" Arthur ran forward and wrapped his arms tight around Alfred. After a moment of hesitation he felt him do the same, pulling him closer, "You stupid, idiotic git!"

"I'm sorry Arthur," Alfred chuckled in his ear, "I'm sorry I made you wait so long."

"Don't you ever," Arthur was most certainly _not_ crying; he simply had something in his eye, both of them actually, and the fact that Alfred's shirt was getting steadily soaked was merely a coincidence, "go this long without contacting me again! I thought you hated me."

"I could never hate you," he sighed and pulled back so they could look at each other properly, "Arthur, you're my everything, and I don't think I ever told you that properly."

"My daft, silly boy," Arthur smiled and raised his hand to cup Alfred's face and wipe away the tears that were forming there, "don't you know you're mine too?"

Alfred smiled and hugged him again, and Arthur sighed, content with the moment, before he asked, "How long are you staying?"

"About a week, but things are starting to take off in New York, so as long as I'm good, Antonio says I can come back and see you at least once a month. Is, uh," he suddenly blushed and fidgeted again, "is that alright with you?"

Seeing Alfred once a month was certainly better than the prospects he was entertaining a few moments ago, but still, Arthur grabbed his ear and tugged, "As long as you promise to keep in contact with me, I suppose its fine by me. It's always been your choice after all."

"I know, but," Alfred bit his lip and looked away, blush deepening, "I missed you. I missed you so much."

"And I you," Arthur cupped his cheek again, smiling fondly back at him, "more than you can know."

The two stood in the silent kitchen for a few more moments, and Arthur realized that the others had left them alone for this moment sometime ago. Gently, Arthur too his hands and lead him fully into the kitchen, smile never leaving his face.

"Welcome home, Alfred."

* * *

><p>I want to thank you all for sticking with and supporting this story, even when it seemed like I would never finish it. You all are amazing and I don't deserve such wonderful readership. Thank you so much for your reviews and favs and alerts and just for reading and enjoying my story!<p> 


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